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The ruffled buck limped along at a much slower pace than usual. It would seem that the cold snap that took over the Swamp had made it much more difficult on his hind leg. Sure, the leg was healed, but it always acted up a little more when the temperatures dropped to such levels.

"I sure hope it warms up soon, Adventure," Hero spoke down to the caiman following closely behind.

The reptile’s only response was to glare up at the buck. It was definitely struggling more in the cold, even more so without the aid of fur and hair.


"Oh, yeah," he said, looking ahead again. No matter how badly he thought he had it, his small companion had it worse right now.

H. Rrre. Rrrrp.

Hero stopped, cocked his head to the side, and when he heard the cry again he leaned down to grab Adventure’s tail and ran toward the sound. When he saw what was going on, the buck slid to a stop at the frozen shoreline.

It appeared to be a zikwa, stuck in the middle of the lake. The poor creature would thrash every once in awhile and call out, but it was obvious that the frigid temperature of the water was doing a number on its body. The thin skin of the zikwa was not very good protection.

After setting Adventure upright, Hero took a step out on the thin ice. His much larger size did not allow him to get even two strides before the ice started to crack and he had to retreat again.

"Just hang on!" He called out to the blind zikwa. The nearly-delirious creature stopped its panic and set about to conserve its failing energy.

Hero looked around, trying to find anything that might be of assistance. Branches were much too short, so he decided against looking for those – besides, any that might have been long enough would be far too heavy. The moss hanging from the trees would take far too long to braid together.

Walking a little further, Hero found a wonderful solution: a thick vine that crawled around multiple trees. He pulled on one, but it proved to be more brittle than usual and broke off. Trying a gentler approach on the next, Hero was able to pull a significant amount off the tree. He thought it would be enough, but he continued until he had a couple body-lengths more before tearing it from the rest.

Next, he had to drag it back to the lakeshore without it snagging or breaking again. His bad leg slowed him down, but this time it seemed that was the pace he needed to be successful. Hero got all of it to the shore with little event. Thankfully, the zikwa’s head was still above the water, and the buck sighed in relief that he wasn’t too late.

Adventure was still there, either from sympathy, as a look-out, or simply frozen to the spot. Hero, never afraid to put the caiman to work, thrust an end of the vine toward it with a simple command, "Walk this to the zikwa so I can pull it to safety!"

The caiman gave him a baleful eye but did as requested – jerking every so often to force more blood flow to already cramped limbs.

It was smooth work from there. Adventure successfully got the bark-like vine to the zikwa and scurried back to the shore before the ice could collapse under its small feet. Hero heaved and pulled, and was able to drag the soaking creature to the shore.

Everyone was exhausted and collapsed together on a bed of moss. Hero had to share his body heat, but he was more than happy to do so. Once the zikwa and caiman were heated enough a couple days later, Hero was able to scrounge up some food and nurse the zikwa back to health before it went on its way with a warning on the hazards of ice.

Fleet Foot shook herself from her dream. Over the years, she learned not to ignore them. Before the remnants could escape her, the kiokote though back to it to see if there was anything she missed.

Her hooves sank in the soft sand of the acha homelands. She had never been there, but her dreams never knew about the restrictions of memories. And this was a dream – Fleet Foot always knew that purely from the fact that she walked without a limp. Some days, it was tempting to never wake up and just stay in these dreams where she could live up to her namesake.

As her thoughts wandered, her golden eyes watched the scenery. It altered slowly and now there were moss-covered trees sprouting through the sands.

The mare paused to the sound of footsteps behind her. Turning, she expected to see her follower but there was nothing. Choosing to continue, she stepped in where the Swamp greeted her. Her invisible tail kept up, regardless of her pace. A branch snapped ahead of her and from the side. Fleet Foot saw a shadow, but as before it had no substance once her eyes focused. Not taking a chance, she went in the other direction. The scenery changed again and she was climbing up the rocks that she could never do in her waking moments. Another shadow passed over head, to join her entourage with the others. As before, when she looked up to get a better glimpse she only saw the cloudy skies that kissed the mountains’ tops. She saw an opening and took the first chance she got to escape her pursuers. The cave went deeper and deeper, until walls cried and she could not see the tip of her own nose. As expected, her followers were behind her the water dripped from their feet as they lifted their feet with each step. If it were even possible, she saw an area ahead where it was just a little darker. Of course, there would be another follower ahead. She turned, groping her way through the treacherous dark until she saw a light ahead.

Blinking in the uncovered sunlight, Fleet Foot’s heart beat even faster as she drank in the sight of her homeland. She hadn’t seen it since the Ache – and once she got to the Swamp she could not turn around and make the long trip home. The only consolation was that her little brother had followed the Ache to become her only family to join her where the Races came together. Tears gathered in her golden eyes and she drank in the sights she thought she would never see again. For whatever reason, she never returned in her dreams until now.

Without looking, Fleet Foot knew that all of the Hunters were behind her and they had been joined by one other. Confident, the mare was certain that each shadow represented each Race. They have all come together to create a world of great diversity, where legends became reality. So, if they were behind her – then what was that up ahead?