"So are salmon-berries like blueberries? Are they yummy?"

Emhyr sighed, a low soft sound that Enver did not hear over his own excited chatter. Blessedly, he was spared having to answer any more questions by the sudden arrival of Solzeren, bounding down the beach towards them. Enver's eyes widened, an incoherent shout leaving his lips as the filly nearly barreled into him.

'Can I please come with you to see sambers please,' came her breathless request. Before Emhyr had a chance to respond, Enver interjected: "They're salmon-berries, not sambers!" the young colt huffed indignantly, as if greatly offended by Solzeren's mislabeling. His annoyance was short-lived, quickly giving way to hopeful excitement as he turned to fix his father with an imploring look. "They can come with us, right dad?"

Emhyr's lips arced into a soft, fond smile as he reached down to bump his muzzle against Enver's. The gesture made him wrinkle his nose in a most endearing way, though he didn't pull from his father's affectionate touch. "Sure, Enver, they can come."

Emhyr cast a glance towards his brother and remarked, "Looks like my secret spot won't be so secret anymore," his tone leaning more towards amusement than annoyance. Emhyr had become intimately acquainted with Tinuvel's more secluded areas, spending the majority of his youth wandering wide and far across the snowy island. There were many great spots to be found - sharing this one with his family was no great inconvenience. Besides, he reminded himself, it was good for Enver - good for himself - to spend time with family. Without them, the Bay was just another place, void of meaning or value.

'Room for two more?' his mother's voice floated above the gentle rumble of the waves. Emhyr's gaze shifted to where she walked towards them with Rethe trailing behind. He was glad to see Kohelet looking well, a smile on her face and a familiar warmth in her mahogany eyes. Fell's absence had taken its toll on her, but in a continued display of cowardice Emhyr had deftly avoided broaching the topic of his father's disappearance when in the company of his dam. It was easier to say nothing than to risk saying the wrong thing.

Perhaps a part of him avoided such conversations for fear of other, equally unpleasant, things spilling forth. For as much as Emhyr avoided thinking too much about feelings, he was aware enough of his own to know he hadn't entirely quashed the persistent seed of resentment he'd held for his mother since she disappeared all those years ago. He'd been but a small child then, but the memory of her departure had been seared into him like a brand, forever marking him. Time had helped heal the jagged wound but as with all deep scars, sometimes it still ached. Oftentimes, it was an ache easily ignored.

Emhyr offered his dam a warm smile. "A family adventure would be fun. Don't you think so, Enver?" Enver, of course, was already nodding his head vigorously, his small frame practically vibrating with excitement. "YEAH, YEAH, let's go!"

"Alright, alright. Come on, then." Emhyr motioned towards the head of a disused deer trail, nearly concealed behind a shroud of wilted ferns and scrawny saplings. He led the group into the woods, glancing over his shoulder to make sure they were all following. Ahead he spied a gnarled oak tree, its branches bending away from the trunk at odd angles. On its trunk a piece of bark had been carefully stripped. In the distance he could hear the faint murmur of a stream. Perfect - they were almost there.

When he reached the tree, Emhyr veered left off the path and followed the burble of water through the forest, keeping his path as straight as he could. Eventually the trees thinned as they approached a secluded creek, its surface glistening under the speckled sunlight that filtered through the thin canopy. Dotted along the bank of the creek were several voluminous shrubs, their delicate branches weighed down with clusters of yellow-orange berries. "See those?" Emhyr addressed Enver and Solzeren, motioning towards one of the bushes directly across from where they stood, separated only by the trickling water. "They're sambers. They're delicious, but be careful picking them - the bushes are a little prickly."