[/In\] SOMNIO. [Rosetta, Broegan, Morgana, Pika]

Lethe rubbed life back into her frozen hands in the stables. Around her, horses snorted and stamped their feet. The frozen air made her breath visible and sent shivers down her back. Not even flies were out in this frigid weather, not lured by the strong scent of manure, hay, slop and the horses. Luckily, today it wasn't snowing. If there was one thing Lethe hated, it was snow. Not one snow flake was the same, they were all different, much like people. Not only that, snow was wet, and found its way into her gloves and boots. It smacked her face, and filtered in through holes in the stable's roof. There was no money to mend the run-down stable, and by now, the horses had been depleted severely. The last blizzard had post-poned food shipments, and caused a severe cold. Now, there were only five horses left for her to raise. Thankfully, her most prized horse, Susie was still alive.

Her mother hadn't even batted an eyelash when Lethe told her of the horses' fate. She merely took her daughter's shoulders in her hand, and fixed her with a sad attempt at a sympathetic look.

"Well, at least, you'll have more time!" She spoke innocently, but Lethe saw through. She was hoping her daughter wouldn't have any horses to tend, coming home smelling rank, covered in mud, and other substances she probably didn't want to know of. She wanted her daughter to be a young lady, meet a man, and fall in love. She wanted grandchildren. Most of all, Lethe knew her mother wanted a daughter who recognized her from day to day. Tough luck.

"Mother! The horses are very important, if you want money to come in." Lethe had cried, irritably. Of course, the entire family worked, her entire large family, so if Lethe stopped working, they wouldn't suffer considerably. Her words meant close to nothing. And her mother smirked, ever so slightly. Lethe pressed her lips together and added. "I'm going to have to spend more time at the stables to take care of the remaining horses."

Now, sitting there, clutching her fingers, tightly, she regretted her decision of spending more time at the stables to annoy her mother. It was dreadfully cold, and she could feel her lips cracking open, raw and bloody. It wasn't that she had no interest in getting married...it was just she couldn't imagine waking up each morning, sleeping next to someone she was completely unsure of. She couldn't trust everybody, and even if someone said they were who they were, she was still uneasy. The scars on her face were the reminder of that, her stress, her lack of trust in the world.

A horse whinnied loudly, drawing her from her thoughts, and she stood, pulling her fingerless gloves back on. She approached Peggy, one of the horses, and placed her hand on her snout, stroking gently. Peggy snorted, loudly, and Lethe's eyes traveled down onto her rump. Her stomach dropped, slightly, as she saw the red rash growing along the brown mare's body. That's how it started for Muni, a horse who'd died last month. That itchy rash. She could feel the tears rising in her eyes, and she hastily, impatiently, wiped them away. Peggy was a good, strong horse. She was stubborn, yes, but Lethe couldn't afford to lose her. She was the one who often pulled odd jobs, pulling carts and such.

She walked, slightly quicker than usual, to the pouch hanging on the wall, and dropped her hand inside. After a moment of groping, she came up empty, her heart skipping a beat. The familiar herbs weren't there any longer, the ones she knew eased some of the symptoms of the rash. She had picked them up in town, but she knew whomever sold them...well, she had no idea who they were, and how to recognize them. Those herbs...they should be in the forest...

The forest...a place of fear, and a place of wonder. She knew the penalties for being caught out in the woods, but she also knew everyone went there. And if it meant saving Peggy, she would have to do it. Grabbing the pouch, Lethe slung it around her waist, patted her horses good bye, and walked out into the biting wind. She walked out of the fenced in area for her horses, and glancing around, towards the fence. There had to be a hole around here somewhere...she drew back tiny branches from bushes and leaves, before discovering a tiny, ragged hole. Quietly, she crawled through it, into the shadowy forest. For a moment, she stood there, motionless, paralyzed by fear. Then, with a spurt of adrenaline, and a tiny pinprick of excitement, she began walking forward. See, this wasn't so bad...

Her stomach lurched as she heard a rustle, far too loud to be from an animal. She quickly swung around, her breathing shallow. "Who's there?" She whispered.

Lethe's blood turned to ice as she heard a scream and thump behind her. She swung around, and lying there on the ground was a boy. He was tall, with shaggy black hair, curled up on the ground, on his arm, the wind obviously knocked out of him. Instinct had taught her enough to not approach an injured animal. However, people were different. She stood there, frozen for a moment, listening to the blood pounding in her ears. She'd never seen this boy before, but of course, he could be from the District, and she just couldn't recognize him. That was possible. It was possible for every person in her life, in the Districts, every person she came across. Maybe he was a stablehand, one of them whom she's talked to on an occasion. Or a boy in town. There was no way of telling.

In which case, she didn't know if this boy was dangerous or not. She made to step back, but her feet felt stuck. She swallowed, pity for this boy pooling in her stomach. Well, she couldn't just leave him, could she? Common sense told her to turn around, and get out of here, quickly gather up some herbs, and go. Not try and help this boy. Jeez, she didn't know anything about healing anyone or helping anyone...only horses. She was stuck between helping this boy and leaving. Finally, she walked over, her heart racing, and knelt down beside him.

"Hey, um," She cleared her throat. "are you alright?" Wow, Lethe, stupid question, he obviously isn't! She licked her lips, but refrained from touching his arm. That might just cause him more pain, and she wasn't sure she wanted that. Why did she come out here in the first place? Why couldn't she have waited until tomorrow, figured out how to find herbs in town, and been done with it? Whys filled her head, and she shook them away, in annoyance. "Look," She said, in a slightly commanding voice, trying to keep his attention on her and not on his injured arm. "who are you? I'm Lethe, I'm from District 5...how about you?