Island Unto Herself

[sojourner]

It was early evening. That hour when the world is changing from gray to black and all things are hard to see. The moon was glowing and a few of the braver stars were beginning to glint in the sky, turning the earth to a hazy blue. In that light, it was hard to see the mare that walked through the wood. Her roan coat served to break up her shape and allow her to slip into the shadows unseen. Only occasionally, when the moonlight managed to find a space in the canopy, did she become easily visible, and then only when it caught the her flanks or her blaze and made them glow silver.

She wasn't moving swiftly. There was no bounce in this mare's gait. However, every stride was purposeful, steady. Her ears, curved and red in the sunlight, now just another shade of gray, did not flick this way or that. Instead they remained pointed strait ahead. Her gaze was steady, shifting only to focus on the ground immediately in front of her, lest she trip. Even her tail, without the task of warding off flies, hung limp behind her.

After a long moment spent climbing a hill, she came to a stop. Lifting her head, she gazed out over the landscape, eyes straining to make out shapes in the darkness. Suddenly she became alert. The scent of water was on the air, along with that of other horses. She would have to be careful here, but perhaps she could find what she was looking for at last.

Her pace coming down the other side of the hill might have been quicker, but only marginally. The same focused look was about her, only now it was occasionally broken by the cautious flicking of an ear or a pause to breathe in whatever smells lingered. There was no fear in her though, just a wise sort of wariness. The sort that spoke of an animal who preferred to win fights by not being involved in one. It was only logical when stallions were involved. At last water came sweet to her nostrils and she forced her way through the brush, to find a meandering stream. Dipping her head down, she drew in long draws of the precious liquid.