Her twin’s stirring wakes Âsana from her light but peaceful slumber. Her eyes blink open, and she rubs the sleepy blur from them by smushing her face into the crook of one leg a couple times. When she looks up and blinks again, Âkulu is standing somewhat confidently on all four tiny hooves. Her twin begins to toddle off, and, existentially disturbed by the thought of being without her other half, Âsana wobbles hurriedly to her feet. She babbles something, trying to express to her sister to wait for me please I’m coming too, but she doesn’t quite possess the vocabulary, so all that comes out is whispered gibberish.

She makes it to her little hooves, just as her twin reaches (what seems to Âsana) an impossible distance away. The black filly shuffles after her, lanky little legs working hard and gaining confidence as she warms up and succeeds in taking several steps without falling. Her shuffle evolves into an ungraceful trot, and soon enough she has nearly caught up with Âkulu.

As she approaches her twin, Âsana watches as the mostly-identical black filly recoils abruptly from something she had been investigating. Âsana echoes her little squeal, but she has no idea what they’re squealing about. She tucks herself behind her twin, and as Âkulu notices the meadow ahead, so too does Âsana. She follows close as they approach the flood of sunlight into the open space, just as curious, if a little less bold than her sister.

Ahead of them, a very tall shape makes a gentle, friendly sound at the twins. At this point, Âsana is still tucked behind Âkulu, as though hiding behind her, or acting as her shadow. As they approach the shape in the meadow — an adult mare, she realizes, not Mother, but friendly — Âsana peels herself away from her twin’s hindquarters. The painted mare has asked them for a name: one name for the two of them? Âsana sees nothing wrong with this. It doesn’t occur to her that maybe the friendly mare only sees one black filly, and that each of them having their own names is still correct.

“Âkana,” she says decisively, mashing her name together with her twin’s. Just as quickly, her brows furrow with uncertainty. “Wait. Âsulu,” she corrects herself, but the uncertainty sticks, and she scowls, becoming lost in thought as she tries to figure out which name they should share.