Falls

"Your whole life if figured out. It was the day you were born. You don't have to make any decisions, Aikoh. Not like the rest of us. You have it easy!"

If only Wiilow could see her now. Nothing had gone the way it was supposed to. A smile slipped to her lips. Really, it had gone the way she expected. Her father had over reached and another herd or stallion had been bound to strike back. She had always been prepared for the backlash. The problem was, she had expected her father to take her with him when he left. The smile faltered and she crashed back to reality, the frigid water dancing around her quickly numbing body. A voice called out and her dark eyes searched the bank, falling upon the tobiano figure. She slowed her movements and turned her dark form to face him. It was far colder than she'd expected, yet not cold enough to ease the thoughts wreaking havoc in her head. She drew in a steady breath and exhaled, filling the air with steam.

"Cold enough to keep me awake, yet not cold enough to chase my wandering thoughts away." She mused on a quiet voice, just loud enough for the male to hear and yet not loud enough to be much more than a whisper over the noise of the water falling behind her. Her eyes darted to the other stallion who approached and she tilted her head, listening intently as he spoke to the other. Had she found herself in some meeting ground or was it simply luck that she was not being left to sulk in her thoughts anymore? She had hoped for a distraction. She had not hoped for that distraction to include two stallions she'd never met before. What was she thinking? She'd never met anyone in these lands. For all her efforts, anyone who approached from either gender would be no more than a stranger to her. She drew in another breath, this time deliberately taking in each one's scents so that she might recognize them in any future encounters.

She returned her focus to the newer stallion when he spoke and she suddenly realized what she must look like from their perspectives. She glanced down at her submerged figure, that dark brown of her body the only thing visible beyond her pale facade. She could only imagine that she looked like a ghost in the best of circumstances and perhaps a lunatic in the worst of them. She shook her head, throwing inky locks away from her visage so she could see a bit better. "The bitter cold was supposed to be a distraction." She offered. Finally she drew forward, careful to seek solid footing for each step she took. If she stayed in the water much longer she might as well prepare herself to become an equine sized iceberg. She reached the edge and with a powerful push from her hind quarters, she fairly leapt from the water to the lower part of the bank. Water rolled in waves down her hide quarters and neck. Once back on solid ground she shook out the long strands along her neck. Water flew to and fro, yet the strands fell back to cling along the long column haphazardly.

She turned to face the two, her body shivering from the cold air upon her soaking wet body. She certainly felt like a fool now, but she wasn't about to admit that out loud. She offered a small smile and dipped her head just slightly. "My name is Aikoh. I suppose you could say I am new to this island." She doubted it mattered to anyone what her name one. She was a no one here and that was entirely refreshing to her. No, her name would pull nor hold any weight in these lands. All expectations of her had disappeared when she'd left her homeland. For once she could start her own life and build it or live it the way she wanted to.