Kohelet could feel summer fading from Tinuvel, sapping the warmth of the sun and leaving frosty edges on the pine needles in the morning. It was still too early yet for all but the most unusual snowstorms, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the familiar contours of the Bay were lost beneath heaps of snow.

She wished that she could lengthen the summer and draw out the easy days of light and warmth, mostly so that she could prolong the fleeting days of Khoshekh's and Una's childhoods. They were growing up so fast now she didn't really know what to do with herself as they matured and changed. One moment her little Kho had been small enough to fit between her hind legs when he was dodging flies, and now he could sling his head over her shoulder without much consideration.

Soon he'd be grown enough to step out into the wider world and start brawling with other colts his age, and finding fillies he'd like to flirt with. Soon enough he wouldn't come to her to say goodnight before he fell asleep, nor come home at all, if he were anything like her brothers. She wasn't sure that she was ready for any of that. They were supposed to stay her little babies forever, didn't they know?

A sound nearby drew her gaze and she looked toward the figure with a soft smile and nickered invitingly. She kept meaning to spend real time getting to know the other members of the herd and always found herself pulled away or too anxious after the difficulties she and Blue had gone through. Kohelet didn't want to lose someone like that again.