Hayley and Bert

Bert - Swamp Monster Mimic

Hayley - Swamp Horse

I have covered Bert’s connection to the Swamp Horses before, but to recap; in his youth Bert would try to imitate other creatures of the swamp to try and find his place. One of the creatures he imitated was the Swamp Horses, he lived with them for a time, but in the end had to leave as he found their diet to be incompatible with his digestive system.

Whilst he was with the herd, the youngest horses quickly became friends with him. They didn’t see him as any different to themselves as he was roughly the same size and he had their distinctive fins. They just thought he was an odd looking breed from another herd.

Hayley was one of these young horses.

Like most of the other young foals, Hayley was very energetic. And she found that Bert could match her energy in any game that they played together. Through his time with the herd, the two forged a fast friendship that withstood the test of time and the difference in their species. If it wasn’t for Hayley, Bert would undoubtedly have given up on the horse lifestyle much sooner. But, he wanted to be there for Hayley and their blossoming friendship. 

Hayley would help Bert, and tried to teach him the proper ways of eating moss and lichen from driftwood. She tried to show him the way they moved through the swamp, and to not jump into any body of water he found. She tried to steer him away from going too deep into the swamp because, as a horse, this would result in their hooves sinking too far into the mud causing them to flounder.

But Bert didn’t understand these rules and restrictions. For him, there were no areas of the swamp that were off limits. One of the benefits of mimicking other creatures was that he had essentially made himself the perfect body for surviving in the adverse conditions.

Eventually, both Bert and Hayley knew that he had to leave for his own wellbeing. It was a hard parting, but they are both loyal to a fault.

Bert set himself up in an area of the swamp that was still accessible to the Swamp Horses, so anytime the herd travelled near Hayley could come and visit him. And she did.

Every single time they were close to Bert, she would break off from the group and go spend her time with her best friend. They would play together for hours, and tell each other of their adventures since they had seen each other last. And when Hayley eventually had her own foals, she brought them along to meet their Uncle Bert.

More tales of their adventures to come.