Falls

Nadja was grateful to find warmth in the young mare’s demeanor and laugh, and smiled as well. She reminded her a little bit of Mia, the mare with whom Nadja had spent most of her adult life, and who had been her closest friend. The grief Nadja had felt at losing Mia was almost as great as what she still grappled with after losing her foal, but she had lost Mia long ago and that wound did not sting so much these days. The blue mare was lucky not to have lose both at the same time; she didn’t think she would have been able to cope.

"I think it is still too soon after my trip from the mainland for me to consider swimming again for fun," Nadja said with a laugh. "I miss summer as well, but mostly I miss the abundance of food. These dry little things just don’t do it for me." She continued to nibble at what was left of the grass anyway, despite her complaints. It was, in reality, better than the grass on the mainland most seasons, and she counted herself lucky to have ended up on this island.

Nadja listened to the young bay talk about the Falls and the Common and the purpose of these places. It sounded like they were a no-man’s land, a place for those without herds to commune and feel safe—or relatively so. "What happens in the Commons?" she asked, tilting her head curiously. She had little experience in the area, and had not seen or heard anything bad happen there, but sometimes bad things happened quietly. She tucked away the yearling’s warning to be careful so that she would not forget it. Maybe I should just stay away from the Commons altogether, she thought.

"I was born into a small herd, then claimed into a larger one," she said to answer the other mare’s question. "I left with another mare, and we traveled together alone for a long time. Our own little herd, you could say," she said, remembering that part of her life fondly. She didn’t yet offer the rest of the story; she wasn’t opposed to sharing, but she did not think it was something a stranger would like to hear, and it was not yet relevant to the conversation, although she did like the other mare so far, and hoped this wouldn’t be their only time meeting.

"What about you?" she asked. "Did you come from a herd on the mainland, or were you born here?"

NADJA