"Preposterous. Monsters and magic do not exist but in the minds of superstitious fools." *Tyson and Max shook their heads at the man who continued to shovel his hay. Kai had never minded when Max, Tyson or Ray made their break out of stopping by to make small talk and impart the rumors of the township, but it's been getting a bit old since all he's heard about is the latest sighting of 'the witch of the wood.' Ridiculous.*
Mud dirties well worn leather boots as Salima makes her way towards the nearest village. It is about an hour walk from her modest home, a small cottage on the other side of the lake. Salima rarely goes to town as she much prefers the calm of nature over people's judging gazes and nasty comments. But, today, she heard there'll be more items at the market and she needs to do some shopping before the cold sets in.
Salima spends the next two days taking extra care of her new family. Making sure their enclosure is safe, warm and comfortable. Once they are used to it, Salima will let them free roam a bit during the day. With a smile, the thought of keeping a guard dog appears in her mind. One step at the time, she'll become even more self sufficient and her trips to the village will lessen.
After the third day, Salima decides to go and visit the herd of horses the farmer mentioned. It is a long walk, but very rewarding. There, near a lake, there's a herd of wild horses. One of them is Salima's favorite: the grey mare with blue eyes. Their bond grew through the years of Salima observing the horses. Slow, slow, until the stallion protecting them tolerated her. Relief hits her as she counts all the horses, everyone is here. Safe.
*Salima's day of relaxation with the herd doesn't last very long. After a long but nice and calming ride through the forest Kai finds what he'd been looking for - the herd has chosen a spot close to the lake, like he figured. After all, all living things need access to water. Kai's mare is quiet, and bomb-proof as they near the perimeter of the stallion's territory. Kai keeps his eyes on the prize - the dark leader of the herd. Slowing his mare with a soft click of his tongue Kai dismounts and hooks her reins on a nearby branch so she can graze while he watches.*
Salima finds peace here, in nature, and near to the animals. She lets her hands carefully move over her mare as she checks for injuries or discomfort, hand stilling to scratch a spot where the horse can't reach herself. A laugh leaves her as the mare leans more against her in a silent way to ask for more. Salima doesn't notice they're watched.
*As Kai dips under low-hanging branches and around tree trunks to get as close as he can to the sightly herd - a stunning array of brown and black and white and grey - the last color he expects to see is red. Blinking, shielding his eyes from the sun, he watches as Salima interacts with the horses like she was known to them. He slowly shakes his head. It seems like that woman is everywhere to him these days.. even in his thoughts. Maybe Tyson is right and he is bewitched.*
