They are not the only ones walking in the woods. The twins flick their ears in unison toward the sound of a nicker up ahead, and soon the hoofbeats they can hear in the trees become a tangible horse as a pale roan mare steps onto the trail before them. The two mustangs amble closer and Trell moves to the side as well as he can on the narrow path to allow Kikka to step up beside him, and the two offer their dark noses at the same time to the stranger who welcomes them. "Hello," they say, and then Trell forges ahead for them both: "Not at all, no; we’ve never been here before."
Kikka nods her head and adds, "We’re new to all of these islands, actually. Just arrived over the summer." As she finishes speaking they are joined by another mare, shorter than Aurora but also a roan. "I’m Kikka, and this is my brother, Trell," she introduces them both, and again the twins extend their necks to mingle breaths with this newest horse.
"We’re glad we found you— or, rather, that you found us," Trell picks up the conversation. "My sister and I are hoping to band together with this herd for the winter and help everybody stave off a little bit more of the cold. Any chance you two know whether or not we’d be welcome?" He looks between the two roan mares and wonders if every pair of horses he and Kikka will come across on these islands will have similar appearances despite being, he assumes of these two, unrelated by blood. This is the second time it’s happened. |