M
U
R
T
A
G
H

It took a few paces back and forth in a change of direction to realize it but Murtagh finally hooted with delight upon realizing his compass had a new heading. They had already been outside of the Falls, making their way back north and home in fact, and he pleaded with Eytan - his mother’s companion - to let him take one more trip. The compass was pointing south! In the complete other direction. Since the bear wasn’t his companion it was easy to assume the grunts and other odd noises bears make - which the colt had been practicing, in preparation for his own bear cub, he’ll have you know - meant agreement and he happily trotted in their new direction.

The tricky part came when they came across some water and there was no one in sight. He had skidded to a stop in the sand, his small hooves just getting a little bit wet as the waves rolled in, and a frown clouded his lavender eyes as he looked across the water. There were some islands there and Murtagh, growing bolder the closer he got to his first birthday, decided a quick swim wouldn’t be so bad, right? He was already worried that one or both of his mothers would come find him in a rage and ask him why he had been gone so long this time so getting a little wet in the process probably wouldn’t be the worst thing.

And again, luckily, he couldn’t hear the grizzly’s thoughts on the matter.

Bold with age but also with his foal hood friend - he truly believed nothing bad could ever happen while Eytan was around.

Both bear and colt were thoroughly soaked by the time they reached the other shore but Murtagh’s elation could not be quenched. He just needed to help a few more horses and he’d be able to find his bear cub! A rushed exploration of the island resulted in the finding of a nearly-white pegasus mare looking into the water. Oh! Maybe she was looking for something in particular!

Wasting no time, the unicorn colt scrambled over to see her - eyes bright in anticipation as the compass pointed straight towards the mare. “HI! I’m Murtagh! Whatcha doin? Can I help??” Winged horses were always so fascinating and he was having trouble not staring at her wings while waiting for a response. How nice it must be to be able to visit these islands and not get wet!