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A storm was coming. The wind was strong, rustling fast through the trees and grasses. Above him he could see birds flying away from the growing darkness. The dark clouds from the east would soon be above them, foreboding of what would soon come. Najinca shook his head, and nibbled on some of the grass. It had been raining off and on for days and when he got up this morning the sun was shining bright and the sky as blue as ever. But then afternoon came and the wind started to pick up. It was late afternoon now but Najinca thought the rain would come probably at night. He'd have to find better shelter since the tree he slept under last night wasn't fully protected. There were areas here and there where the rain slipped through and landed on him, once on the nose where it woke him up with a start and other times on other parts of his body. There was that cave further in the forest but last time he went there, a bear cub was there, waiting for its master it told him. Najinca wasn't sure if that meant a bigger bear so he left, not wanting to find out.

Overall, it was a good place to live in. There was grass all over the place, a forest behind him and a river just over the nearby hill, a yard or so away. It was often quiet, something Najinca found strange because he expected many families to live around here or at least visit. But peaceful, very peaceful. He never faced anything remotely scary and that pleased him because he was no good with confrontations, especially if it led to something attacking him. Najinca was passive and no good at fighting. He supposed if he had too he could manage some sort of defense before he could flee but he just would rather not fight anyone. It was completely against who he was. So, he was glad it was a peaceful place. It reminded him vaguely of home but it was also completely different, for which he was also happy about.

He nibbled a little more at the grass before raising his head. A drink would be good, he mused. Better to go now than later, before the storm hit. He still needed to figure out where to go as well. Shrugging his shoulders, Najinca started to head towards the hill. After he climbed it up and then down, there the river would be. It shouldn't be too long of a walk, if he hurried. He looked over his shoulder at the forest, the rustling trees was the only noise. He shook his head. It was still too strange. Perhaps there was something about the forest he couldn't figure out. It could be a possibility as to no one was ever around. Maybe he'd find out eventually. He continued on his way.

He hurried along, eyes drawn to the sky every so often. Najinca climbed the slope of the hill, and paused briefly when a couple of squirrels passed by, playing with each other. He smiled but he also saw more birds flying, scattering to shelter. Najinca continued up the hill, as a strong gust of wind rustled his short hair. It wouldn't rain too soon but everyone wanted to hide from the rain. He would too, but later.

Reaching the top of the hill, Najinca looked over to where the river was. He neared it and looked down at his reflection. The river was surprisingly quiet, Najinca expected it the water to be rough and quick. Instead he found it was moving but it was a soft movement. Najinca drank some of the water and then drank some more of it. Very refreshing. He sighed happily.

He was about to take another long drink of water when he heard movement. He paused, listening for any other sounds. Perhaps he imagined it, he couldn't hear anything else. Najinca looked over his shoulder but saw nothing. There was too much other movement going on in the distance, that was probably what he heard. He shrugged and bent his head again over the river but his right eye caught the glimpse of something. Or someone.

Yes, someone. He turned his head to look at the mare. Najinca completely missed here. She wasn't far from him, how did he miss her? It must have been because he was so fixated on getting to his destination, nothing else mattered. But she was getting up now. He hoped he didn't upset her by being here. Maybe she wanted some alone time for herself and he interrupted it?

"Hello," He smiled warmly at her, "did you decide to come here for a drink as well?" Najinca didn't think she came here for the same reasons as he did but he figured it was an all right way to start talking to her. She didn't seem dangerous so Najinca thought it was okay to speak with her. Maybe she was even around this area. Or if not, it was still always nice to meet someone new even if he might never see them again.