The sighing of the waves on the Ridge’s thin, white beach was soothing. Red spilled into the water beneath the setting sun, saturating the calm sea, reflecting crimson ripples up Faolain’s legs and across her dark belly. There was no one that Faolain missed from the mainland, no one she had grown close enough to cause discomfort when she left her old life behind.

Still, she had a distinct feeling of longing she couldn’t quite describe. As though there was an absence, a place someone was supposed to fill, but she couldn’t think of anyone who fit in that void. Rivaini and Hades had their own spaces in her heart - this was different. The space had appeared slowly. It had wormed its way in almost without Faolain noticing, and even now, the black mare didn’t often think about it. She chalked it up to a general feeling of different she had been experiencing lately.

At this point, Faolain was not surprised by the ever-changing state of the Ridge. Her home was like a living thing, a great curled beast that shifted and coiled as it dreamed beneath the thick blanket of jungle. The black ‘Teke was accustomed now to balancing on its tilting spine, and the fact that she felt a little off as she adjusted was only evidence of her adaptability.

Or so she thought.

As the deep fire of the setting sun melted into the sea and then bled away, Faolain walked along the edge of the waves. It wasn’t a patrol, really; she had been patrolling, but she wasn’t ready to go back into the abyssal shadows of the forest. She missed Rivaini and Hades, and she wanted to check in on the rest of the herd as well, but the sea was so soothing. That longing seemed stronger with the waves lapping at her hooves, rising against her thin black legs as she pushed them through the shallow surf. She walked the length of the beach until the cliffs of the Ridge met the waves and cut away the sand entirely. There she stopped, and stared out over the ocean with an aching sadness she could not explain.