Meadow

She felt lost. With Bahadir’s deception and Shaydowfax’s abandonment of the Dunes, and with the Islands as a whole still being a new environment to the blue mare, Nadja felt out of place and depressed. She did not want to go back to the Dunes and its new golden leader. She did not know whether she trusted Bahadir or not, though everything he said when he swept her away to the Badlands had turned out to be true. She needed time away from the sweltering heat of Salem and the emotional turmoil she had come to associate with the desert island.

When she arrived on the Crossing isle, she felt almost immediately better, in a numb sort of way. She had good memories here, though she avoided the Common, where she had first met Shay. The painted blue roan headed instead for the Falls to drink and rest. The cold mountain water would clear her head and rid her of the overbearing heat of Salem.

Still, as she stood in the mist of the Falls with her front hooves submerged in the chilly water, this was not the place she wanted to be. It helped, but she needed to retrace further; something pulled her toward the shore where she had first washed up. She didn’t know if she’d be able to find it again, or how she would feel when she did. That part of Nadja’s life was sorrowful and lost, but it didn’t seem like she’d made any improvements thus far, so maybe going back to the beginning would help her start over. She needed to find a new path on these islands, one that did not weigh so heavily on her painted shoulders.

She followed the worn paths that webbed the large central island, though she did not remember them well. They led her to the Meadow, which was familiar, and then to a stretch of beach that was familiar as well. Her heart ached with homesickness, but there was no home to return to. This was as far back as Nadja would be able to retrace her steps; now, she had to go forward.

As she gazed out over the gentle waves, soaking up the view one last time before heading back to Salem - to Bahadir, to try and sort things out - movement further down the beach caught her eye. A golden mare was standing where the river met the sea, gazing much like Nadja was, though she was too far for the blue mare to read her expression. Another figure approached her as the blue roan started down the beach, but this one was familiar, and by the time Nadja reached the two of them she realized who it was.

"Solomon," she said quietly, stopping just a few feet away from the pair. She had caught his words to the golden mare, and for a few moments Nadja said nothing, waiting for the other to respond to the painted stallion. She did not want to interrupt. Still, she wondered if the leader of the Cove had any information about where Shay had gone, and as soon as there was an organic break in their conversation, she would ask him. She waited patiently, the lines of her body and face still taught with worry, but not nearly as much as when she had arrived on the Crossing.

"Dialogue"

NADJA