Falls

The thrill of being away from home never ceased to be novel to the little red dun; she had felt it each time her family had travelled from one land to the next, but it was intensified twofold now by being away on her own. Leaving the Ridge had come with conditions from her mother, and though Ainn had rolled her eyes, she had agreed to Deirdre's terms: no Commons, no territories, no Peak, and certainly no Lagoon. That left very few places the girl could explore on her own, but they were certainly better than nothing.

She was normally rather content to stay with her family, but autumn had brought with it a restlessness that she could not shake. She wanted to meet other horses, to explore the islands, to make friends beyond her tiny circle of family. Perhaps - though she dared not hope too much for this - even a partner of her own. The fact that Naoise had brought one such potential partner home already needled her to no end, and she hated that her little brother was acting older than her. It simply was not right.

But such thoughts were not what occupied her mind at the moment. Rather, it was the large waterfall that was surging ahead of her, it's rapid flow sending a spray of mist aloft at it's base that sparkled in the wan sunshine. Rainbows floated through the air, and she could not help the delighted smile that crossed her lips as she moved toward it eagerly, wanting nothing more than to race through it and feel it's cool embrace against her skin. She loved the waterfalls on Atlantis the most, given that they were both the most plentiful and the most lush. For her, there was nothing better than running beneath one on a muggy summer's day and letting the cool water wash away the day's heat.

Only this wasn't Atlantis. And this wasn't summer, either.

As soon as the water coursed across her back she shrieked, her whole body tensing in surprise as the autumn-cold water rushed over her body, causing immediate goosebumps as she lurched away. She stumbled on the slick rocks but high-tailed it from the water, shivering the moment the cool air of they touched her body. The day was comparatively neutral, at least for the Crossing, but her Atlantean skin was not prepared for the temperature shift, leaving her miserable and unhappy.

"Ohhh, that was a bad idea," she chided herself between chattering teeth, hunching uncomfortably in an open area where the sun might help her dry her coat. She was aware of eyes on her, and felt the flush of shame, but did not dare move back toward the shadows where she might hide from her foolishness.