The days and weeks had slipped by in a whirl of new scents and sounds. The blur of grey and brown hues had not lasted long after her arrival as the winter snows rolled in swiftly to claim the Inlet, and but for the small area's sheltered by cliffs and warmed by the steaming waters Amica found her world plunged into white. It was nothing new. For every land her dark limbs had carried her across over the years had held the winter snows. Yet never like here. This land truly was a place of snow and ice. The cold bit at her sandy sides, nipped at her ears and chased at her heels. Though her pelt had grown thicker in readiness for the following months, she still could not be prepared for the true extent of winters grip on her new home.
Frequently the mare lingered about the outskirts of the herd, ears flickering to the sounds of activity, to the group that she was now a part of. It was a strange thought she still hesitated over, an instinctive distance kept about her. Too long had she had to peer at shadows and prepare herself to make a swift exit, to steel herself against hard words and dismissals. None had come. Yet habits die hard.
Through the white she would drift, learning tentatively the terrain around her alone when Pagan left to patrol the borders. With the passing days she took increasing care as one fact became unquestionable. Within her that half expect life stirred and grew. There was no denying it now. Fear continued to lurk at the back of her mind for the dangers that new life would come to face. Yet along with it grew a smouldering determination as she roamed. She would learn of her home in every way she could, where those waters that warmed stood and where those that caused harm lurked, where she could find shelter against the frigid winds and to avoid the icy under foot, and where she might find thriving blades of grass even in those months. A difficult enough task for some. But for the near blind mare she could rely on only her other senses, and her memory.
That day the gilded mare had moved away from the group once more, dark ears peeked to the icy winds listening keenly as she selected an unknown route. Only as far as she felt safe moving in that initial venture alone did she drift, black limbs parting the snows with caution until she came to a rest beneath the blur of a lone tree. Before her clouded eyes unseen her breath plumed warm into the cold air, side resting lightly against the rough bark.
Quiet wrapped about her for a time, nothing but the wind and odd call of some bird above to keep her company. Danger lurked out there in the white she knew in so many forms. The distant call of wolves had sent shivers down her spine the first night she had heard them. But it was not the long howl of wolves that broke the quiet, but laughter. Ears pricked curiously, listening to the youthful sounds that travelled through the air, and the one familiar deeper one that followed drawing her to dare step a little further on before pausing. A small smile slowly curled across her dark lips as the sounds continued, begrudging them not at all their enjoyment, only praying that someday her little one would be amongst them joining their play.
