When I woke the next morning, I had the taste of grimy cartilage in my mouth. I ran to the river and rinsed it out as well as I could.
"Never have I tasted anything so foul!" I leaned farther over the river and almost fell in. I caught myself by plunging my arms into the water, resting my hands on the filthy, muddy bottom. I brought them back up and scowled at the grubbiness. "How much of a princess am I?" I resolved by wiping my hands off on my dress, which later I regretted.
I hopped onto Clupint, who shook his mane wildly, flinging dried dirt into my eyes. "Oh! Clupint, stop it," I soothed him by running my fingers of equal filth through his course, sun-bleached hair.
"Ah!" I huffed a recognition of realization. "I shall braid your mane, to keep it out of your way!" I waved a hand in front of my face. "Hopefully it will hold in the stench. You need a bath as much as I do!"
With his mane braided, she almost looked like a war horse. Like Rebel did whenever I braided his mane, exposing his birthmark. Clupint had no birthmark, but it didn't bother me. Although, it did make me think of Brye.
"I wonder what he is doing right now? Probably thinking of me." I chuckled. "Or eating. Well, Clupint, we had better go find Sweenlah. I do hope the monsters didn't horrify her too badly." I patted his side, and off we went, into the horizon where the resplendent mountains lay.