She was grazing when his call echoed through the Bay. It was a pastime she'd grown accustomed to doing far more regularly than she had ever before in life. It seemed the biting temperatures in Tinuvel required additional effort to keep warm. And eating regularly was the only thing -- besides snuggling with Nephilim -- that seemed to do the trick. Nova had only been a resident of the Bay for a few weeks. But by now she'd explored every inch of Nephilim's terrain. Some sparces of land were more dangerous to scale than others. Other corners were darker, and their predator-like sounds made her heart flutter in her chest when she was alone. But for the most part, Nova was settling in nicely. She was happy here. The young mare daydreamed daily of the next time she'd see herstallion. She'd fantasize about their next adventures. She'd yearn to know more about him -- what he was like as a foal, where he'd grown up, what his family was like. She had few answers to file away with the made up memories she crafted in her head.
Nova had yet to meet the other residents of the Bay. It wasn't that ashen colored mare was purposely ignoring them -- she'd pick up their scents on the trail here and there, but chalked up her solitude in recent days to the Bay being a big place. Every night, however, she'd linger on the edges of their whereabouts, knowing to keep close enough for safety. Sometimes she thought about the mares here too. Maybe she'd make a friend, or two. As long as they didn't get in the way of her time with Nephilim, of course.
She wasn't far from the shore. Nova could still hear the distant thunder of the crashing waves in between the rustle of the forest trees around her. But she stood in a open valley with hardy, dull-tasting winter reeds. There she feasted upon what was left among the wintertime faire. Her coat had grown substantially since she arrived, a new addition to her body that she didn't much care for, but appreciated on those cold nights by her lonesome.
When his call came, she stopped chewing. One lobe flicked forward, then the next. She didn't move at first. Instead she stood frozen, waiting to see what would happen. No other equine rushed out in front of her. When Nephilim's stubmling frame appeared in the distance, her sparkling blue eyes widened. She took in his disheveled approach, the weakness in his step. Something was wrong. Nova allowed a shrill call of her own to escape from her smooth, parted lips, the whinny carrying loudly over the howling wind, and she urged her delicate frame into a quick two-beat trot to meet him. "Nephilim, what happened?" She begged as she approached. "Are you all right?"
3 | Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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