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It was a warm day, but not too warm because of the breeze. Summer was drawing closer each day and Jericho expected the weather to become even hotter. During the summer months when he and his mother spent their days in the mountains, it was always cooler which Jericho liked. The times they decided to spend a few days in the plains, the bugs were numerous and the heat often scorching. Yes, Jericho did prefer the mountains with the higher elevation and the nearby river to the lowlands. The ocean would have been nice too, Jericho supposed, but he and his mother never went there during the summer. Too busy, she often had told him.

Regardless of his mother's opinion, Jericho had decided a couple of weeks ago that he would be spending this summer at the ocean, the one where Reii Yuki lived nearby. He hadn't known the mare for very long, but she was one of the first he had seen a lot of, besides his mother. They had been spending quite a bit of time together and Jericho wanted to maintain their friendship, or whatever it was that they had. He continued walking through the grass, drawing closer to the mare's home.

He had flown for most of the morning, having finished visiting a nearby forest, but he walking now because of the warm afternoon sun and the fact that he was so close to Reii's home now. It was just over that cliff. Once he reached the top of the cliff, he looked down and took in the sandy beach with the blue-green ocean that seemed to sparkle from the sun's rays. He breathed in deep, sighing contently as his eyes slid closed, he did love the ocean afterall.

He shook his head once and opened his eyes again, he could enjoy the ocean later, he should find and say hello to Reii first. He turned his head to the right and spotted the caves where Reii lived and where he had stayed for a while. Jericho wondered if she was over there. He started to walk in that direction, his gold eyes searching for the dark coloured mare with the ice blue hair and tribal markings.

He could have flown over there but as it wasn't too far of a walk, Jericho stayed on his hooves, enjoying the downward slope from the cliff and onto the sand. He sighed contently at the feel of the sand beneath his hooves; even though it could stick in the worse of places, Jericho still enjoyed the sand. When he saw it, heard the seagulls in the distance, and smelled the ocean, he was quite happy by it. The mountains was often his home but the ocean was more special to him.

Perhaps it was due to the gift he was given as to why he enjoyed it so much. Or perhaps it was only the memories of him as a foal, enjoying himself.

Jericho shook himself from his thoughts, walking further through the sand, looking over to the ocean every so often. He would have to go in for a swim later, he could try and convince Reii to come with him, if not he could do it alone. When he was younger, he rarely saw other foals, only his mother was a constant presence in his life, and so, he often played by himself when his mother was busy. It could be lonely at times but he made do, he imagined and pretended.

The caves were closer now, and his gold eyes swept over the land around them. No sign of Reii still, though she could be inside one of them. "Reii?" Jericho called out into the closest cave. "It's me, Jericho." He felt he should state who it was, even though he felt she would remember him. It had been a couple months since they last spoke, but surely she wouldn't forget him, he hadn't. However, still he was coming unannounced; sending a bird would have been better. His mother would be unimpressed. Reii might not even be here. Or, she could have other guests here to attend to.

No answer came from within the cave he had called into. Jericho turned away and started to head to the next one when he heard his name from one of the caves near the end. It sounded like Reii. Jericho headed quickly towards it. Once he reached the entrance of the tan coloured cave, he called her name again and waited patiently outside. Jericho was confident this was where the sound came from but only one way to know for sure, if she appeared or not.

When the dark coated mare appeared, well her head at least, Jericho was relieved. Although he had been confident that he had chosen the right cave, he grew less sure as the minutes passed by. Seeing the mare now, he was glad that he didn't have to look further. He followed behind her, taking in her appearance. Her hair was as light as ever and the black flowers in her mane and tail were still striking. But, something seemed off.

Jericho's gold eyes swept over her form but he couldn't determine what it was. Her horn was still pointed, very pointed, and her wings didn't seem to have a feather out of place. If they could only step outside where it was brighter, perhaps he could figure it out. However, it was more polite to inquire after her activities these last two months and her health. Was her eyesight worse? Going outside could wait.

At the back of the cave he took a glance at the small pool of water before his eyes settled on the many seashells and rocks that surrounded it. He had never seen so many different shells and rocks in one place. His mother had often brought shells home with them when they went back to the mountains but never so many.

"You have quite a collection." Jericho told Reii as he sat down on the cave's ground. His wings curled up against his body as he settled into a more comfortable position. He tried to remember if she had mentioned such a collection before but he couldn't.