Falls

”Come along Ayleen.” she chides affectionately, pausing to turn her dark eyes once more on the little girl that trailed behind her. As usual, Ayleen stopped to inspect a buzzing insect on a nearby flower, a particular bumblebee that did not take too kindly to the small pink nose that shuffled into its space. The tiny yellow and black insect buzzed loudly as its tiny iridescent wings beat rapidly against the edge of the bright purple flower. The small grullo filly squeaked her surprise and launched herself backwards on skittering hooves that managed to get tangled over an upturned root and send her sprawling back even further on her smokey rump.

Doing her best to stifle the laughter that hung in her throat, Gynievvere turns back to her small daughter now, flicking her long silver white mane over her dappled hips. Pale lashes blink slowly as she closes the distance between her and the filly, extending her long neck to exhale a warm breath over the girl’s pale face. Despite the tears that gathered in the corner of her ice blue eyes, there appeared to be no harm to the small girl. Tenderly she brushed her muzzle over the flat of the girl’s ivory brow. ”Hush now darling, no tears.” she purrs affectionately, tracing her ash dusted muzzle along the curve of the soft baby fur along her grullo neck. Gynievvere withdraws her touch with a soft snort, causing the dark fluffy mane along the girl’s neck to ruffle. What had started as tears and a frown began to shift into something more akin to a smile as the small filly glanced up at her dam with trusting eyes mirroring the same love that gleamed in Gynievvere’s own. ”Let’s see if we can find that waterfall. I am sure I heard it was around here somewhere.” she murmurs, touching Ayleen’s soft cheek once before turning back to the well worn path that they had been traveling down. Paper thin nostrils flare as the dappled gray woman lifts her finely dished head to catch the gentle breeze that passed between the great oaks. There, somewhere nearby was a source of freshwater clear of ocean salt. Gynievvere can taste it in the sweetness of the wind. Gyn can almost taste it now, the sweet cold water on her lips. It would be a welcome relief to the murky ponds and muddy streams that she had found in the meadows and along the common fields. She had heard a rumor of the falling water and the mental image that the stranger’s words brought to her mind was enough to encourage Ayleen onward in search of an adventure.

However if Gynievvere thought that the tumble on her rump might sober the small filly’s boisterous nature, she was wrong. Like a bat bursting from its cave at the first rays of sunset, the smokey filly burst past her dam in a flurry of churning hooves. It seemed even she noticed the change in air. Small fluted ears twist as the distant roar of water promised that their destination was nearby. With a laugh, the mare of dappled moonlight launches forward with her long silken banner raised high above her supple hips. Long, sleek neck curves into an elegant arch as she presses forward at a ground eating lope. She laughs in amusement as Ayleen, as if realizing that her mother was closing the distance between them, kicks out her heels in hopes of slowing her dam. Gynievvere pivots just beyond the filly’s reach before snaking her head out to nip her rump in playful reprimand. ”Hurry slow poke!” she teases, leaping ahead leading the way down the winding path until the roar of the water causes her to slow to a breathless walk. It had been sometime since she had raced carefree like that. A very long time.

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Why she expected the falls to be some great expanse of white water she does not know, but there is still awe and wonder in her eyes when she finally rounds the bend to reveal the much talked about waterfall. Rocky pebbles line the shore of the clear river edge, the water fresh and cooling even to the air that surrounded it. Behind her, she hears Ayleen gasp in wonder and she turns back to give her daughter an approving grin. Droplets of water tumble from the moss covered rocks, dampening the earth and causing her hooves to sink into the sand and gravel shoreline. Tentatively she lets her whiskered muzzle graze over the ever moving water, savoring the sweet scent before taking a long refreshing gulp. Beside her, Ayleen trots forward, her movement causing the water surface to splash against her mother’s cheek. Gyn snorts the droplets of water from her nostrils and glances over to watch her daughter spread her tiny legs to bend her own muzzle down and taste the water. ”Delicious, isn’t it?” she asks, smiling warmly at the filly before lifting her own head once again and shaking out her now dampened silver mane.

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