C a t a l i n a

Your going your own way
Walking with your own sway

Sharp, curious eyes traced the dim white silhouette of a tall jagged cliff swathed in a mysterious sea-spray mist. The day was dull and dreary, drenched in cold bleak shade and intermittent flash downpours driven by an early Frostfall wind, made play-time on the beach unpleasant. Cat was soaked through, standing across stiff, defiant limbs in the frothing surf. Thoughtfully she glanced towards the tree-line to find her mother watching, ever cautious and devoted to the welfare of her young adventurer daughter. Kyan was with her, though his interest seemed distracted as he foraged about, hopping quietly through the brackish scrub, always nearby to his bonded.

Again, her eyes quickly sought the tempting presence of the looming cliff where it reached into the sky, beyond their bay- upon its rocky back laid the World’s Edge, her Mother often explained. Cat would always twist the stories with a mischievous grin, pretending that it marked, in actual fact, the ‘edge of the world’. A brisk snort fluttered from the tip of her tapering slim nose, her expression stern and always calculating. Kanti often spoke of the edge of the world, and those who had fled to there when their Foothills were invaded. The memories shared with the filly were ordinarily fond and merry. Cat had no reason to suspect the nature of such a clan should be anything less than humble and accommodating.

“Mother!” she called, turning and springing with light prancing strides from the lashing waves along the sodden shoreline. “Mother, I am going to play!” As a general rule, Cat knew that she was not to leave the safety of their beach-home; not to stray beyond her Mother’s line of sight. “I will not be long.” The girl moved to brush her still soft, youthful lips against Kanti’s warm breast- kissing it tenderly like she always did, before leaping away in a northern direction. Today she would break that rule. She travelled swiftly and sure-footedly through the scattering of coast-hugging palms, and naked, prickly thickets away from the sanctuary of the familiar sand and ocean; leaving behind the roaring crash of windblown waves.

For a long while the terrain remained much the same, vegetation which grew thin and sporadic with little nourishment from the flimsy, sandy loam. Cat was not ignorant though and knew well that her make-shift home did not stretch eternally to blanket the entire Helovian landscape- she knew that soil would cushion her step soon, and continued with bold determination, on her quest to find the switch. When it did, elation flooded her naturally demure expression and eagerly her muzzle was lowered to snuffle against the change of terrain; to brush the supple grasses as they invaded the wiry patches of coastal carpet. Filled with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, Cat burst forward into the new territory, continuing brazenly to find the horses which lived on the brink of life itself.

She passed close to the rugged seaboard, and was considerate to leave a trail of scent strewn hoof prints in her wake, should her Mother worry and seek to find her daughter. Cat was obedient and graceful in the manner by which she conducted herself, and she would never have intentionally sought to trouble Kanti with foolish venturing. Occasionally, she would pause to rub her short, mane encased neck along a gnarled tree trunk, or chew quietly at the loose hanging bark of a branch. Either way, her progress was no secret.

The land began to incline, and the invisible track which she followed broke apart into shale and bare, cold rock. She wondered, as she climbed steadily with unwavering enthusiasm, if she were mounting that very cliff which she looked upon from a distance, so often.
It was indeed the cliff lining World’s Edge, and unbeknownst to her, Cat passed bluntly across the borderline which lay indiscernibly between the parcels of unfamiliar land. A lathering of scents and wonderfully strange aroma’s did linger when she passed, but the filly was used to the traversing of many beings- she lived as an outcast, and her kind were spilt recklessly across Helovia to travel and wander as nomads.

Soon, enormous trees began to grow around the traveller, and she paused in humble reflection to look at them and whisper her delight. Such old creatures were few and far between along the beach, and she took pleasure scouting through the forest as it unveiled itself before her through a light fog. The area was unlike any other she had seen- the deep forest was dim and cold, sunlight struggled to penetrate the canopy there; not to mention the stallion who claimed ownership of her Mother’s vulnerable heart was last seen there. The beach also, was certainly nothing like this labyrinth of long, lush grass and curious woodland pockets.

There was one whose name echoed through her mind as the excitement began to build in her throbbing heart, and she wondered with baited breath if he might come out and play with her- even though it was quite the miserable day to do so.



"Thinking Speaking Acting"

i wake up in the darkest night
watch you breath in shadow light