Ylva's arrival in the inlet had just been the beginning. As winter brightened into spring, and spring warmed into summer, Ylva watched from afar as bodies filled the inlet. Some did not stay long; others left and did not return. Some seemed to have been here all along, even before Ylva. She was a passive observer to the flux of residents, too shy to ever do more than smile in their direction. Even Solaris, with whom Ylva had felt an instant kinship, was distant to her now. Grief still clung to her like a great weight, pushing her down and suffocating her, and though it happened less often now, there were still nights she lay awake on the tundra grass, staring up at the stars with tears streaming down her cheeks. A social life was not at the top of her list of priorities.
Yet when Warsaw called, she came, with her head low and her heart fluttering in her chest. She drew up behind the other mares, hoping that Warsaw's eye would not be drawn to her, and peeked around the shoulder of one of them. Beside Warsaw stood the splashed mare who Ylva could only guess was his lead. Her proud head and roaming blue eyes struck fear into Ylva's heart, so Ylva quickly looked away before she caught her staring. The others she had seen around before... all but a slim black mare with a conspicuously damp coat. Was she a new arrival? Ylva eyed her curiously, noting the tension in her stance and the fiery look in her eye. As small and delicate as the mare was, even she towered over Ylva, who was feeling more and more that she had come to a land of giants.
What trouble would these giants stir up today?
2; norwegian fjord; red dun pangare; 14hh
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