Shaya strode through the bushes and trees, determined to keep some semblance of her pride even as the exhaustion she was feeling set in further and further. She had to keep walking. She hadn't seen the light of day for some time now, enough so that she had lost track of the amount of days and nights she had spent walking without rest. She stumbled once again, her foot having caught on a tree root that was raised slightly out of the ground. The dark horse collapsed, her knees hitting the ground and she bowed her head. What was she doing? There was no way she could make it on her own. But she had to try. She forced her long legs to straighten underneath her. She wobbled precariously for a few moments before fully gaining her balance and starting her walk again. She glanced at the small cuts and scrapes that had been sustained during her fall; they bled lightly but blended in with the dark coloring of her coat.
After what seemed like hours of walking she saw a small amount of light seeping through the trees ahead of her. She perked up her ears and forced her weary legs into a faster walk, and then a trot until she reached the clearing. Her dark brown eyes slammed shut against the harsh light, as they had been so deprived of the sunlight recently that it took her eyes a surprisingly long time to adjust. After her vision returned to normal, she took in the sights before her. The clearing was beautiful, with a small waterfall crashing into a pool of clear water and a layer of pure snow scattered across the ground, dappled with hoof prints of different sizes. She wasn’t quite ready to join the cliques of other mares standing quietly, so she kept her eyes down and walked to a small open patch near the waterfall and closed her eyes. An icy winter breeze ruffled the leaves and tossed her dark gray mane and tale, revealing the large scar that started on the top of her neck and ended just above the point the her shoulder transitioned into her leg. Shaya always loved the cold and this was no exception; she opened her warm brown eyes and embraced the frigid temperatures, untroubled and serene for the first time in quite a while.
After what seemed like hours of walking she saw a small amount of light seeping through the trees ahead of her. She perked up her ears and forced her weary legs into a faster walk, and then a trot until she reached the clearing. Her dark brown eyes slammed shut against the harsh light, as they had been so deprived of the sunlight recently that it took her eyes a surprisingly long time to adjust. After her vision returned to normal, she took in the sights before her. The clearing was beautiful, with a small waterfall crashing into a pool of clear water and a layer of pure snow scattered across the ground, dappled with hoof prints of different sizes. She wasn’t quite ready to join the cliques of other mares standing quietly, so she kept her eyes down and walked to a small open patch near the waterfall and closed her eyes. An icy winter breeze ruffled the leaves and tossed her dark gray mane and tale, revealing the large scar that started on the top of her neck and ended just above the point the her shoulder transitioned into her leg. Shaya always loved the cold and this was no exception; she opened her warm brown eyes and embraced the frigid temperatures, untroubled and serene for the first time in quite a while.
