She had woken at the oasis, but she had not been content to stay simply because it had been the first place she had ended up in here. Pale could not tell where 'here' was, but she knew that it was different from the place she had been previously, and she was no longer wandering in areas devoid of other equine. They were all over, the scent of those that moved here and there around these areas that looked both different and the same from what her memories held. Pale was aware that she had never been here before, but that doesn't concern her. Nothing wrong with new places, and as she had been seeking somewhere to finally settle down in, this one could work just as well as any other. 

The last place with droves of equine had been a failure in Pale's eyes, and the bitter sting of that was not forgotten, but she had learned from her choices and would take that with her as she continued. She prowled for the shaded areas as she moved along, sensitive eyes kept out of direct sunlight that reflected it and clouded her vision. The difference of it was seen in her pale moss green pupils; a birth defect that had been caused by the spreading infection of Rift, but healed eventually aside from the discoloration and light sensitivity. Pale was lucky that was all her eyes had suffered from it, all she had suffered from it. She had gotten used to the minor issues of it, and lingered in the shadowed areas when she could.

Above all else, however, Pale was drawn to sources of water. There would be one that she would eventually stay close to in an all too protective sort of way. Kelpie instinct, even if all the physical aspects of what she had been were leeched away. Her mindset wouldn't change with it, not unless it helped with her continued survival. That above all else was Pale's priority. Yet she also had other priorities to keep in mind, and so she would. For now, her mindset was on locating all the sources of water in these lands to map out in her head to figure out what best suited her lifestyle. It might take her some time to travel as much as she must to find them all; barring the ocean, since she did not count that in her search. It was too large an expanse for her interests.

Which was why she eventually found herself at Rapax River, picking her way along the precarious banks. She was well versed in how dangerous it could be, since she spent more time around water than anywhere else within her lifetime. And while she was not all that old, she had wandered a good deal during the short years she had been alive; and those wanderings were often around bodies of water. She could judge the stability of most places she walked around water, on rocks, the soft soil under her cloven hooves. Better suited for the rocks and ledges, those. And her tail helped with balance when and where it was needed; and a rudder when swimming. But Pale wasn't swimming now, but simply nosing around the riverbank.

-- I WOULDN'T HOLD MY BREATH IF I WERE YOU
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Pale had been assessing the river; silently, critically. She had not yet passed full judgement upon it, but it wasn't looking to be the most stable of water sources. That did not bar it from being a possibility, for she believed that she would be able to hold her own in this area, away from the rapids, if she were to wade around within the waters of it. Still, Pale liked the idea of being more submerged then this river could give in the more calm of areas through it. There was something utterly peaceful and comforting in the ability to go under all the way up to her nose with just her nostrils and top of her head above the surface. Like a crocodile, laying in wait.

There was more truth to that mental imagery, of course, with the sharp teeth and all. Pale had gained a taste for fish and flesh at a young age, though by now she no longer felt a pressured need to eat those things now. She was not perfectly sure what that meant, aside from allowing herself to slack in that sort of hunting. In the face of better, safer survival, Pale was relieved by this new development. Yet every now and then she would be hard pressed to give up going after fish altogether. Nosing around the riverbank now gave her time to eye the waters for fish as well, though she saw no terrible insufficiency in that area within the river. A tally in the column of approval.

All that would have to wait, because the sound of splashing took her attention and held it; someone was crossing the river. This had Pale stilling and peering in interested curiosity at the stallion braving the chilly water. It was enough to have her stepping daintily into the river, feeling the welcome chill of it sink in as she moved closer to the stallion, meeting him at a place only knee-deep and extending her nose towards him to inhale deep before offering to exchange breath with a soft, "hello." In greeting. Usually, Pale would be sharp with questions for anyone she met or was passing by, but for some reason her mind was more quiet in that regard; more interested in the stallion's proximity.

-- I WOULDN'T HOLD MY BREATH IF I WERE YOU
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