Meadow

Summer in the Cove was excellent, but Fall was even better. Where Vihar had once chased the little seasonal birds that dwelled in her chilly home, she now raced after brightly colored leaves. If they fell, she dove to chase them; if they were already on the ground, she rushed through them to kick them into the air and chase them some more. The filly had almost endless energy, with Mother being the unfortunate recipient of most of it, as the leaves could only handle so much. Though Nadja was often exhausted by her daughter’s antics, she did love to watch them, and could only hope that when the new life taking hold in her belly came into the world that Vihar and her sibling could entertain each other and leave Nadja to the audience.

At least now, Vihar was old enough (and Nadja worn down enough) that the painted filly was allowed to escape on her own for short periods. Today was one of the days Nadja had rolled her eyes instead of bolting after Vi, settling into a light doze while she listened to her daughter crash through the forest on her own.

It didn’t take long for her to fall truly asleep.

Of course Vihar knew this, and was waiting to hear the soft snores before creeping quietly deeper into the trees. She was ready for some real freedom, or so she thought as she made her way to the pebbled shore. The chilly salt spray was tingly and cold on her face when the wind found her through the trees, and she stepped out onto the familiar Cove shore. She peeked over her shoulders a few times, certain Mother would appear behind her as she often did, or maybe even Father. But no one came. Perfect.

Still tip-toeing ever so carefully, Vihar crept towards the waves. She had played in the water, even swam a bit in the lake, so the ocean couldn’t be that bad. Right?

Wrong.

Not only was it bitterly cold, the waves swept Vihar under almost as soon as she was shoulder-deep. She hardly got a squeal out before the ocean’s jaws closed over her head, and instead of a squeal she could manage only a gurgle before sucking in a breath of water. After that, the filly’s energy was diverted entirely to survival. She ceased thought as she thrashed, and though her body did its very best to keep her afloat, her mind departed to make room for her fear. Even if she could see, it would not have mattered; Tinuvel was soon too far behind her to see.

It was only on the sun-warmed (but still pretty cool) sands of an unfamiliar beach that Vihar began to come back. She hacked and coughed for what felt like hours before the fear began to recede, and she realized that she was not, in fact, still fighting the water. What the heck! How had the water done that? The lake in the Cove never dragged her down! Able to breath again, Vihar snorted in frustration and bewilderment. She got unsteadily to her feet and looked around, trying to figure out where she was, though not-Tinuvel was as far she could figure out.

“Hello?” she called hoarsely to no one in particular. The trees here were very different, and the air smelled of decaying leaves not masked by the cloying perfume of pine. There were color-changing trees on Tinuvel, but not that many; just enough to provide Vihar with playthings. Here, they were everywhere, and the ground was covered in a carpet of golden brown leaves. Vihar wanted to dash through them, but she also wanted to figure out how to get home and then take a nap instead. “Hello?” she called again, her voice almost whiny with displeasure at her circumstance. At least the sun was out, and it was warmer than Tinuvel. Hearing no response - though maybe she had water in her ears - Vihar left the sandy beach and found a patch of sun in the grass, where she curled up and planned to pout a while.

vihar

filly // newborn // EE aa Dd nCh RnT // 14.3hh wfg