The starlight woman moved slowly through the unfamiliar desert terrain. Dark flutes flicker back and forth atop her crown as glittering eyes strain against the bright sunlight that beats upon the landscape around her. Paper-thin nostrils flare as the mare pauses in her trek, and the sound of nearby horses draws her attention. Deep within her breast, her heartbeat flutters, wishing to do nothing more than to sink into the sand and disappear. This was not her home. Salem… the desert… it was not in her blood like in her pale-haired sister. Nyimara had always been more elegant and fierce of body and spirit than she could ever hope to be. There was a time when she was a mere filly, that Rivka wanted to be like the fabled witch. Hushed whispers of her name echoed around the islands so prominently that even in her self-built cage, Rivka had heard them. The woman of fire and hatred that cursed any who failed to please her. It was enough to breathe fear into her own tender heart. But with that fear, came the embers of respect and admiration she had held for Nyimara as a girl. When the mare appeared on the shores of the Harbor, Rivka had been thrilled. It had been so long since she had encountered a familiar face that she was beginning to feel as though the ocean had swallowed them all up and replaced them with new life leaving only herself behind to share the stories of years past. Stories that she could not truly remember with any faithful accuracy anyway.

Nyimara gave her the stunning news of their father’s sudden demise and promised her passage to offer her own final words if she had so wished. The news had been received in silence and her voice remained lost even when the mare returned to the sea for Salem. For days after, Rivka found her thoughts drifting to distant memories of the impressive wolf and the warmth in his eyes when she had held his gaze. Despite his reputation throughout the islands, the beast had always been gentle with her, always murmuring pet names and adoration at the slightest moment when her pride took a fall. He had been her shelter when Vanya grew belligerent and her hiding place when the proud mare grew displeased with her for some failure she always managed to manifest. When Rougaru had disappeared from Atlantis, it had taken Vanya mere hours to abandon Paradise and leave behind their home and her children. Having to hear from Nyimara that the beast had not only returned but planted his roots far from home and all he had built had been earth-shattering for her. Had she meant so little to him? Was everything she thought she had known always been just one lie planted atop another?

It took days for her to come to her decision and even when her path did lead her towards the island of Salem, Rivka still was not sure this was the right choice to make. She knew that the forgotten bones of Rougaru could never give her the answers she sought but still, some small part of her felt like she needed to see him one last time if only to finally close this one single chapter in her book of life.

Although Rivka spent her life in the humid jungle of Atlantis, she learned rather quickly that Salem was a beast of an entirely different sort. While some found the dense trees and dark shadows of Atlantis suffocatingly thick, the starlight mare felt that somehow it enveloped her… protected her. Salem had no dense forests or brightly colored foliage to hide the equally contrasting colors of her black and white coat. There were no afternoon showers to provide relief from the sweltering heat or rain-laden streams of fresh water trickling by at every twist and turn of well-worn pathways. When she first rose beyond the Dunes of sand on the red shores and cast her cautious gaze upon the landscape beyond, her breath had stilled. The trees that grew here were spare, their gnarled limbs reminding her more of skeletal hands as they stretched toward the heavens in a silent plea. The air here was thin, much thinner than Atlantis but the heat, it was sweltering, and even the breeze that blew in from the sea did nothing to offer relief. Despite her deepening regret, Rivka finds a small reprieve from the beating sun beneath a tall, spindly tree whose shadow more than its leaves alone, offers her shade.

When the worst of the sun begins to set and though still warm, the air begins to cool, Rivka sets off again in hopes that she might come across Nyimara.

But as she gazes now down upon the milling herd that grazed peacefully around the muddy waters of an oasis, the starlight woman can find no trace of the mare’s pale hair and dark skin. Either she had not made it to the desert yet or Nyimara was no longer here. Either way, it seemed as though her journey was proving to be fruitless. Dejected, Rivka cautiously proceeds closer to the herd, the need for fresh water to coat her salt-encrusted tongue outweighing her desire to turn back to the sea. She tries her best to avoid the romping children in case their mothers take her presence as a threat. Silently she wades through the yellow-brown grasses her eyes set on the promise of fresh water… that is, until suddenly she cannot see the muddy brown waters lapping at the shore just beyond her reach any longer.

A stallion is in her path. His gaze focused on her and she comes to a sudden halt, her head lifted in alarm. Pale eyes travel over his worn features for a brief moment until she remembers that she is a trespasser here. ’Evening..’ his graveled voice causes her heart to flutter and she drops her small muzzle slightly in hopes to keep herself from appearing like a threat. ”I’m… I’m sorry….” she stutters, taking a step backward, her small ears tilting back submissively. ”I..I did not mean to disturb you.” she murmurs, lifting her pale gaze to meet his bright golden eyes. A gentle smile ghosts across her lips for a mere moment before she lowers her eyes to the sandy earth once more, heat rising on her cheeks. ”I just… needed a drink of water. If that is alright?” she asks, her voice unable to hide the hope that lay beneath them.