Mizuki opens her eyes and blinks a few times before the world comes back into focus. It had started to snow last night and she had watched the flakes gently tumble down to the earth as she had drifted off to sleep. Those first flakes had melted away so she was pleasantly surprised to find a blanket of snow covering the ground. Clean, white, sparkling and pristine. It brought a warm smile to her face. There was nothing more perfect than snow, and some say that no two snowflakes were alike. Slowly she turned her head and looked over her back to find the snow had settled on her too. She could hardly tell where the snow ended and where the long hair of her coat began. For a moment she looked at herself with a quizzical eye, had she really faded this much in such a relatively short time? She used to be a grayish shade of blue. Not that there was anything wrong with how she looked now.

A call breaks through the quiet of the dawn and Mizuki turns her head towards Nicodemus. Her heart starts to flutter like a little bird in her chest when she realizes that he’s looking in her direction. He was calling for her? Without hesitation the small white mare shakes the blanket of snow from her back and starts to walk towards her herd leader. She walks with grace in spite of her rounded belly that was heavy with their growing child. There was a warmth in the smile on her lips, a sparkle of life in her dark eyes and general glow to her appearance. She was lucky enough to be one of those mares that looked good while pregnant. Just a few more short months to wait now before they get to meet their new baby. Of course after her last traumatic birthing experience Mizuki wasn’t trying to look that far ahead. She just tried to take each day as it came. One small step before the next.

When she reached the painted stallion she nodded her head in greeting. “Nicodemusu,” she spoke quietly so as not to disturb any herd members that may still be resting, and there may be some shyness there too. She reached forward and upwards with her muzzle for him to nudge, or nuzzle if she’s lucky, with his in return should he wish too. It was unusual for him to request her presence and she was more than curious to know what he wanted to say, but she waited patiently for him to speak.