Restless nights and feelings of sadness and uncertainty have defined her daily life since she's returned to the Bay. Zjeena is glad to see her children here, interacting with their siblings, and getting to know their father. She had yearned to feel the chill of a cool Tinuvel breeze upon her back and melt the snow upon her tongue, but these pleasures are no longer so sweet as her heart aches for everything she's lost.
Once fiercely loyal to and in love with Liland, she finds their relationship broken. There is still hope their love can be mended but for now, it remains in pieces, scattered across the bay. A night like the one spent with Rougaru before her return cannot be forgotten, and it haunts her now. Like Zjeena once wished to return to the Bay, she now longs for Rougaru's touch. She reflects upon their hours of conversation, and now the Bay seems like such a trivial want. Love and connection, is what she truly desires, and there is none of that here in the Bay anymore.
At first Zjeena thinks his call a part of some memory. She's heard it a thousand times in both dreams and nightmares alike since her return to the Bay, but after a moment's hesitation, she realizes it's real. Zjeena picks her head up, her eyes alight with joy. She spins on her heel and takes off full speed towards the sound.
Unbidden, a frantic cry escapes her lips. "Wait for me, Rougaru. I'm coming." it seems to say. All the noise they make will surely alert Liland, but Zjeena doesn't care. The little mare gallops on. She slides down the steep slope towards the water on a landslide of loose rocks, dodging trees along the way. Her little legs don't fail her as she maintains her balance, hits the bottom of the hill, and takes off again. She can see him now, standing there, not a figment of her imagination. He said he would visit and he kept his word.
She comes to a winded halt before him. Her nostril flared, and eyes wide with emotion. Her mane and tail are tangled and full of pine needles. There is mud up to her knees and hocks, but otherwise she looks well. Zjeena's coat is thick for winter and her sides round both with fat and with child. Yes, it's certain now. Rougaru's young grows strong inside her. She can feel the flutter of life quickening in her womb. It's the tether that binds them, and her only source of happiness in this trying time.
"Rougaru", she croaks. She trembles with the urge to touch him, but she isn't sure where they stand now, or if Liland is somewhere nearby. Teetering on the edge of indecision, she finally gives in to the desire. Zjeena closes the gap between them, and steps into a warm embrace. She shelters under the neck of the much larger stallion, finding comfort in his nearness, and his smell that suddenly feels more like home than the Bay.