Ashitaka had translated what Nicodemus had told them; that they were welcome to stay as long as no harm befell his family. Mizuki and her brother had no intentions of causing trouble or harm to anyone. They just wanted to live a simple and peaceful life. Since she arrived the little grey mare had barely moved from the place where they washed up all those months ago. Her thick coat had kept her comfortably warm through Tinuvel’s bitterly cold winter and now it was starting to shed as the snow started to melt. It’s not that she purposely isolated herself from the others around her, it was just difficult to communicate with strangers through a language barrier. If she caught the attention of the others here she would meekly smile and politely nod. Ashitaka had taught her a few English words but it was insufficient to hold any form of meaningful conversation. He seemed to be busying himself with patrolling the borders or running any errands Nicodemus requested of him. Mizuki wasn’t sure if her brother was trying not to be a burden to their host or purposely avoiding her. Perhaps he still felt guilty about not being able to defend their home. Or perhaps it was a mix of both.

Mizuki was more concerned by the fact she hadn’t felt her unborn baby since they had arrived. Not a single stir or feeble kick. Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. Oh, please, no! She had lost her family and her home. She couldn’t bear it if she lost her baby too. Finally, one calm mid spring night the foal arrived in the early hours of the morning. Mizuki had found a small quiet copse where she was unlikely to be seen or disturbed. This was the young mare's first birth and she did her best to stay calm, follow her instincts and let nature take its course. The pale dawn light shone upon the form of a small foal, black in colour just as she had been when she had been born. The baby lay still upon the cold ground. Mizuki did everything she could, she licked and prodded with her muzzle but there was no life in the little body. Tears streamed down Mizuki’s face as she whimpered quietly before the morning silence was broken by a scream, the eerie wail of a mother that had lost her baby.