The River of Tears. It wound for miles throughout Trae, the valley with no southern border. No horse knew the river's end, same as no fish knew it's beginning. It's waters are a deep blue, and almost purple. Of course, nothing could match the beauty of the Sapphire Sea, which lay to the west of the river. But still, one can not help but marvel at it's path and it's never ending waters. And this is exactly what Kehta was doing, while at the same time debating whether to drink from it or not disturb the waters.

She stepped a bit closer, sniffing at the water as if to determine if it was ok or not. And as she stood on the edge of the River, Kehta caught her reflection, and was reminded of her mother, of whom she was the exact image. A single tear fell into the river, which was followed by another. Keh took three hurried steps backward, telling herself crying was for those who were weak enough to show it. Keh didn't need to miss her parents, she was two now. Technically speaking, she was still a filly, and perhaps the youngest horse in this valley. But Keh still liked to pretend like she was older, like she knew what she doing. Some horses respected for it, most just laughed, and the filly never payed them any mind. But it was when it came to times like these, when she had wandered for miles from her home and was reminded of the family she left behind, that she lost that demeanor for a few seconds.

By now, Keh had regained it again and stepped back up to the river, and drank a bit of the refreshing liquid. Her head slowly lefted as she looked to the sky, to the birds that flew above her, probably thinking what a waste horses were when they couldn't fly. Kehta just laughed at the thought of both it and bird thinking it, and turned away from the river.

Now what?

To say 'spring was in the air' is perhaps a little too cliché, but also maybe just the right words to describe the current weather. Snow was just beginning to melt, and every day Kehta was left with the feeling that it could rain any minute, but instead the day would be hotter than the last. Of course, this wasn't so bad, considering it had actually been cold just the day before, but the sudden change in weather is bound to get to a horse sooner or later.

And since Kehta had not yet lost her winter coat, either, it is fair to say that she was feeling close to what the stallion was at that moment, not that either knew it. If she believed in a god, Keh would have began to pray for rain right then, just to have some relief from the sun. She began to wish for winter back, too, even though winter brought hardships (like lack of food). But whatever, right? It was spring, she would lose the winter coat, and life would resume to normal. Maybe.

Kehta stepped backwards in suprise as a stallion approached, but said nothing as he bent to drink from the stream. She wondered at why she was so suprised at his appearance, it wasn't like this place was unoccuppied. She had heard of Trae from a passing herd, and she was told it was a popular place to just visit, although there were few herds at the moment. Maybe he ran one of these herds? The idea wasn't strange, so she didn't doubt that it could be true.

Kehta felt uncomfortable as he began to study her, and she avoided his gaze and looked toward the river inside, but still watching him from the side, and wondering what it was he was thinking. 'Hello, m'lady' The voice was calm and polite, nearly kind in nature. Kehta had never been good at judging another's intentions, but it seemed that he was a nice horse, probably of either neutral or light alignment. The thought of the dark's deceiving nature didn't even cross her mind as she turned her head to look at him with questioning eyes.

"'Lo."

Kehta had never been big on respect, and she wasn't about to waste her time giving respect to someone if she didn't even know he actually was a leader or not. So she satisfied herself with a friendly, slight dip of the head. He couldn't argue with that, could he?

Kehta's first thought was to give an angry retort, like she always did. She thought to ask him if he didn't think she could take care of herself, or something like that. But he was being nice to her, was it really fair for her to repay that with an angry response and a stubborn snort? She shook her head, clearing the wisps of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. Why was it always so difficult for her to talk to another horse?

"Wandering, I guess. S'not like I can't take care of myself, anyway."

The tone of her voice was calm, and she smiled (as best as a horse can, anyway) as she said it to show she didn't mean anything by what she said. Well, other than the stubborn determination that was just a part of who Kehta was.

The wind began to pick up, and Kehta was glad for it. It wasn't too strong of a wind, but it was enough that it leveled out the temperature again, so that it didn't feel too hot anymore. Her main began to fly behind her as she turned so she was standing directly toward the stallion, and then her tail did the same. With the wind coming in her direction, her mane was not in her eyes, and she was glad.

"M'name's Kehta, anyway."

Ah, but while one of the creatures in this civilized conversation may have been a monster, the other one didn't know it. She was neutral by birth (there were no alignments where she had come from), but she had been taught to trust, and even if her experiences told her it wasn't always the best idea, sometimes it was easier to stick to one's upbringing. So as Kehta stood there, talking and listening (although, neither really had anything particularly interesting to say), there was no thought that crossed her mind to say that this stallion might be deceiving her, and his real intentions or thoughts might be different than he showed.

Well, that was until he spoke again. So it seemed he was a herd leader. But... 'Deathly Falls'? The name implied a Dark alignment, at least from Kehta's previous experiences. There was always the chance that it had already been named, or it was a neutral herd, or even that it was the best name to fit the land he ruled. But still, now there was a feeling of doubt planted into her mind that wouldn't go away until she learned his true nature, which she doubted he would voluntarily tell her.

She noted the pride in his voice at the mention of his land, and couldn't help but think of her old herd leader, so much pride at how little he actually had, and how horrible the place really was. She doubted Sweeney Todd's was bad, but there were some memories that just couldn't be helped but to come up every so often.

Finally, she dipped her head in a respectful movement, a bit overdue. "I meant no previous disrespect," she brought her head back up again and looked at him, wishing she had something more to say.

"Glad t' hear it..."

It was funny how Kehta liked to think of herself one way, but when she actually had a conversation with another equine, she ended up acting completely different. And was it acting? Somehow it seemed natural, despite all the anger she felt for no reason, or reasons that she maybe wouldn't admit. Possibly they were both actors in the same play, playing roles that neither knew about. Or Kehta could just have been an innocent spectator, wanting to think she was an expert when she really wasn't.

But, analogies aside, Kehta really didn't know what to think of the current situation. There was, in her mind, no sense of his "overdoing it", and he was real enough to her. Of course, Keh had spent very little time among horses in the past couple months, and therefore had lost all previous experience. This fact probably worked to his advantage more than to hers, and while the doubt still lingered, it was almost completely forgot in the next moment.

"If you don't mind m'asking, what're you doing out here, away from your lands?" It was simply curiosity that led her to ask the question, and perhaps a bit of a wish to carry on her end of the conversation rather than to let him ask all the questions. If he was who he seemed (a light or neutral stallion), then Kehta figured he wouldn't mind a question out of her own mouth, maybe a bit of prying into his business, but no harm meant, and no requirement to answer.

The wind slowed down, and Kehta turned briefly back to the river, bending her head down for a drink. Her main fell into her face and into the water, but the steady flow was not interrupted, and all that resulted from it was a bit of water on the tip. She moved back to her position before, the wet strands now resting between her eyes. It appearred as if she had been sweating, but Kehta ignored it, it felt nice, anyway.