It had only been a few weeks since Baldr's birth, and he was growing well. Freya herself had mostly recovered from the toll his birth had taken on her aging body. Sometimes, there was still a soreness in her muscles, but it had faded more as the days went by. The dun mare was also grateful to have had Persephone there that day; truly, if it hadn't been for her, Freya might not have lived to see the shores of Tinuvel again.

She had always been hesitant to take Bjorn and Schuyler off the island when they were young. Still, summer had seemed to come early this year, and the seas had been calm. And Baldr, well, he was anxious to explore, given that he had dragged poor Freya over every acre of the Forest - maybe twice.

So now, she found herself and her son on the banks of the Bay, shaking the frigid water from their coats. It seemed the tide had carried her to the opposite side of the island, but that was okay - they could easily journey through the Inlet's neighboring territory. Last she had known, Soljor had ruled these parts. She had met the painted stallion only a handful of times, but had always appreciated his candid attitude and dedication to his herd. There were new scents on the wind, now. While it made her sad to think that he was gone, it gave her hope to know that someone was here, somewhere. She just had to do a little looking.

"Mama, where are we?" Baldr asked, sticking close to the white-faced mare's side as she began her journey towards the heart of the Bay. Towards the border.

"We're on Tinuvel. This is the island where I used to live, long ago." She explained to him gently, turning her head slightly to peer at her son's face as she walked. His fuzzy ears were perked atop his cinnamon-colored crown, blue eyes shining brightly in the summer sun. "Why are we here, though?" The little colt pressed, and Freya chuckled as she fixed her own cerulean gaze on the path ahead of them. "Because I missed it, and wanted to see it. I wanted you to see it. It holds a very special place in my heart."

The answer seemed to satisfy the freckled colt, who promptly took to running about and exploring as they trekked along. She saw no one, which only increased the worry in her heart. She hated to think that all of Tinuvel had been abandoned. What a cruel fate that would be for a land that was once great, and flooded with life.

But then, finally, two figures appeared on the horizon. Baldr, being much quicker and much more brave (or perhaps foolish) than his mother, rushed forward, whinnying in greeting as he approached the pair. "Hello!" his cheery voice rang out in the warm summer air, fuzzy tail held high in his exuberance. "Do you live here?" He asked eagerly. Had Freya not interrupted that moment, it was quite likely more questions would have tumbled from the eager boy.

"I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion, we were on our way to the Inlet." The old mare apologized, bowing her head towards the pair - a pretty pale mare and an similarly colored stallion. A faint sense of familiarity seemed to overcome her as she gazed into the stallion's face, but she could not quite place where they had seen each other before. How awful it was to think her mind was starting to fail her, too.