Underneath the evergreens; IONA

[Romek]

fuck all your dreams; they're not all they seem.

Upon seeing the unfamiliar mare at their meeting, Romek had made a mental note to seek her out later. She probably must feel like a stranger within this land, he reasons, and it is up to him to make her feel more comfortable and at home. It’s one of his duties, now. Though he isn’t exactly the most warm member of Taiga, he has been making an effort to be more approachable, though it doesn’t come easy. Being nice and talking and making friends was Maribel’s forte, not his.

It takes some time to find the mare, not yet being entirely familiar with the land, nor being familiar enough with Iona to know where she was likely to be. But he finds her eventually, which is the most important thing.

”Hello,” he says, as he pulls to a stop near her. ”I’m Romek. I saw you at the meeting, although I don’t think I caught your name.” he pauses, remembers to smile. ”Would you like to go for a walk?” he found that talking wasn’t quite so hard when you were moving, and this way they might even bump into some other Taigans, who doubtless would want to meet the new mare.

Romek

@[Iona]

[Iona]

Iona had been quite pleased with what this land had to offer her so far. The flaxen mare usually stayed away from the other horses though, preferring the freedom and quiet that came when one was alone. She'd spend the first couple of days here exploring the land, looking for all the clever nooks and crannies she could use when she had to hide for whatever reason.

A place that had quickly become her favorite was the edge of the redwood bank that stopped a couple feet from a large lake. The sight was normally hidden by the fog that rolled in on the mornings, which is when Iona settled there; it gave her plenty of time to wake up, look out for any trouble that might be coming near to see if there were any unlucky horses out there for the next meal.

The flaxen mare was knee-deep in the lake, enjoying the cool feeling against her stomach. A couple of times, for no reason, she'd kick up her legs and prance in the water, having fun, before returning to her quiet self, a sight that might seem a bit odd to other horses who saw. Not that she cared though; she was having fun, even if at times she didn't understand all of what she did. Many a times she'd heard other horses gossiping about her, wondering if she had something wrong with her head.

Did she? Iona didn't know, nor did she care.

Iona was busy splashing around in the water so much, she failed to notice the approaching horse near the bank. Only when the wind changed suddenly did she figured something was going on. The flaxen mare rushed out of the water, whinnying happily before giving her pelt a good shake to get rid of the water.

"Hi, I'm Iona," the mare replied enthusiastically, trotting around the stallion to get a good look at him. Once she'd finished and was standing in front of him again, Iona shook her neck to get her mane on one side of her neck. "Sure, a walk sounds nice. Let's go."

The mare turned back toward the trees and walked a couple paces away before she realized something. Looking back to the stallion, who was named Romek, she spoke again, "Where do you want to walk to?" she asked.