Winter was coming, and Rohanne was not prepared.
It did not matter that her coat had already thickened up nicely, with extra long hairs protecting her lower jawline and fetlocks. It did not even matter that she felt the safest she had in a long time, under the watchful eye of Mariael and Nephilim. She knew that the colder it got and the worse the snowstorms became, the more time the herd would spend up in the caves and around the hot springs to keep warm.
And those places held bad memories for her.
There was little she could do, however. She was not about to leave the herd - not now, when she was finally beginning to feel like she had a future again - and she had no intention of staying behind to freeze to death while the herd sheltered up in the slopes (she doubted Mariael would allow her to do that, anyway, especially now with the inlet herd a threat). She could only huddle quietly amongst the other herd members for warmth, as she was doing now, digging in the snow for grass and watching as the days grew shorter.
Often she watched the comfortable, sisterly affection that Mariael and Maziel shared, and felt a stab of jealousy. She missed her twin sister more than she could bear, and seeing the two young mares together reminded her of the bond that had been torn away from her forever.
Today, however, the snow fell so thickly that Rohanne could hardly see two feet in front of her. Everything was white, from the sky to the snow-blanketed bodies of the horses around her. They were so densely covered that she could hardly tell who was who, which was a boon. She expected that Mariael would soon move the herd further inland to find shelter, but until then Rohanne would enjoy the strange, ethereal anonymity that the snow brought.
The grullo mare tucked her chin to her chest and wondered if she could get away with having a little cry without anyone else noticing.
ROHANNE
4; grullo; draft mutt; 16.0hh |