There is a mountain of pain in the painted stallion's discordant eyes. It's enough that she feels a flicker of regret over her outburst, as justified as it had felt. It was with a physical flinch that she realized how stupid she'd been. Castile, for all his fire and brimstone, was a kinder soul than she had right to love. For all her sins, and he had returned to her after all. How long had he been torturing himself, only to have her pour her lot on top. He'd just stood there and taken it with guarded stoicism. Another fragment of her heart cracked at his murmured confession. It was her own feelings reflected back to her, raw and real. Matching wounds that needed healing.
It was at once logical and exasperating that he focused on her slip of tongue, inquiring after the offspring she'd mentioned. Immediately her expression softened into something like a smile. It was better than the flood of tears that had been threatening since he'd appeared. Briefly, she allows herself to remember that night. Passion had been the theme of their romance, from the day they'd met. Every emotion felt thoroughly, every touch a burning need. As if reading her thoughts, she stands frozen as he moves, touching the skin of her neck with utmost delicacy as if she were a figurine of porcelain instead of a flesh and blood mare. She absorbs the sensation, eyes shut and leaking at last.
They flutter open again as he breaks the contact, and it feels like her heart is trying to break free when his gaze meets hers. It would be too easy to fall into his touch and forget everything else for a while, and it was something she intended to do before long. But first there were things to be caught up on and discussed. "They're wonderful. Raul has much of you in him. A good head and a strong heart. Santana is... well, he takes after me, I suppose. A bit reckless, a bit flighty. Impossible to pin down. But he's sensitive. And... He's going to need you, soon. I don't think he knows yet, but I see your beast in him. And he's waking up." Her face kept intentionally mild as she spoke, not sure how he would respond to this news. He would need to meet the twins, and that would be yet more emotional turmoil to survive on everyone's part. This information might hurt or help that meeting.
The river flowed insistently around his muscled legs, likely cold in the late season. With gentle motion she reached towards him, taking a tangled lock of golden hair between her teeth. She tugged firmly, beckoning him to the bank, towards the grassy flatness where she had been resting before he'd arrived. It would be a while yet before the maelstrom that his presence brought would settle. Before it exploded entirely though, she would be a little selfish.
"Hold me, Cas?" Her voice was low, hopeful and fearful. She wouldn't beg. Not beyond that one phrase. Reality was a bitch as often a not, and there was always room for more heartbreak in it. Why not freeze time while they could?
SABRA
I'm Hell on Heels, Say What You Will
@[Castile]