The mare returned from her trip to the veins, making her way North towards home. The feelings inside of her were confusing at best and absolutely incapacitating at worst. The mare had spent the entirely of her walk back trying to figure out something that she had no words for. With the sun high in the sky and lighting her way she no longer had to worry about the darkness. Still, the mare felt something troublesome settling on her soul and she couldn't quite grasp it. Even if she did know what was troubling her so, would she have been able to deduce a solution? The mare knew was well as anyone else that the answer was no. If was not a scholar, at least she was aware of the fact.

The farther north she made it, the more she realized that she was entering unknown territory. However, as it did not feel as heavy to her as the deep forest, where she had been gathering gems for her trade, the mare did not feel concerned. The one thing she found that she did not like about this place was the quietness. Even in her most painfully introspective moments, the mare was social by nature. Perking her ears forward, the mare looked dutifully about her to try and find some signs of life besides the rodents of the forest.

Off between some trees, a flash of gold caught the mare's attention. Carelessly, Kahlua turned herself that way, stupidly forgetting to wonder if there was danger in the woods that she was unaware of. She could take no more of the fruitless brooding that was going on in her head. She needed company and she needed joy. And if she could not have these things, she at least needed an escape. If this stranger could provide it to her, all the better. So, she forced a smile onto her face and took care to shake out her mane and tail just the right amount before she wove her way through the willows and into the presence of the gold marked mare.

As Kahlua broke through the trees, the first thing she noticed about this mare was her blood-tipped horn. It was the same horn she had seen on Artemis, of the Foothills, not a few weeks past. At the time she had been frightened by the horn, but she was not now. After all, Artemis had proven herself kind enough. The second thing she noticed were the dancing fireflies that seemed to hover about the mare and nowhere else. So, while she did not go so far as to assume that this black mare and Artemis were of the same herd or family, she foolishly let herself believe that this stranger was of no concern to her and stood before Ktulu quite unguarded. “Hello, my friend,” her smile was radiant and her voice danced as it normally did, but there was a hint of something behind the words. Kahlua was no liar and not versed in the art of stealth. Try as she might, it was painfully obvious that she was troubled. “I'm Kahlua, of the Edge. I hope you don't mind me joining you?” And so it was, that she looked expectantly to the black mare, hoping that she could find some companionship with her.

.KAHLUA