Falls

Inka

As Evaline took the lead into the trees, Inka followed dutifully behind. Though the trail was well-worn - as though many horses had passed this way over the years - it still crowded her, with branches and shrubs brushing and scratching against her sides. Occasionally she had to duck her head to avoid getting a face full of leaves, but this was nothing new for her. The sprawling deciduous forests around the Peak may have been more widely-spaced overall, but the Friesian mare had had many years to practice manouvering her tall frame through tight areas.

"Sadly, no," she replied to Evaline's question about her siblings, raising her voice to be heard above the rumble of the falls. "There were many of us, but none I was very close to. We all went our separate ways years ago."

As the trees began to thin and light began to flood into the area once more, Inka lifted her head and pricked her ears. The falls were just ahead across a short stretch of grass, like a grand silver veil cascading from the brow of the land. The Friesian mare heard her companion ask something else, but she could not quite make it out. She came up on the left side of the little mare and smiled down at her. "I think we found it," she said loudly, and laughed, before trotting to the water's edge to drink. The water was pleasantly cool, and tendrils of her thick mane fell down to catch in its current. When she lifted her head to regard Evaline once more, water dripped from her grey-peppered muzzle.

"I didn't quite catch what you said before. Did I hear you say something about the prairie?" She furrowed her brow speculatively. "Are you from Luthien?"