Litotes smiles at Will’s unbridled energy. He relaxes even further, admitting to himself that he enjoys her spunky voice and regal face. She is an oxymoron, confident and proud in appearance but gangly and excited in practice. Deep in his mind, he hopes to know more about her.

When she tells him she was born here, the territory with mountains and borders, Lie is unsurprised. She almost smells as if she created this land herself (and perhaps she will, her perpetual energy boils dangerously under the surface). Will tells him her birth here was boring, and before he can even think of uttering a word, she is onto the next thing.

Startled and mildly upset, Lie fights the urge to stop walking entirely. His emotions are a candle in the wind, masked as skillfully as a con man masks his giveaway. Memories of Cattail Lake spin behind his eyes at alarming rates. His father (dead), his older brother (missing), his mother (scorned) . . . there was no escaping their eyes once they were in his mind. Litotes had spent a year burying them.

All of this - haggard secrets and repressed emotions - here and gone in an instant. In the sudden, echoing silence in his mind, the haunted man realizes this is why he has hidden for a year.

Litotes believes he cannot face who he was, and now he knows it is confess or die alone.

So caught up in his hurricane thoughts, Lie processes her last sentence a second later than normal. He sighs, padding alongside Will with his eyes to the ground.

“It wasn’t a fear of the not knowing that made it hard to leave, but a fear of knowing exactly what would happen,” he starts, then finishes in an almost silent tone, “I was a fool to live in denial.”

Feeling guilty for being so solemn, Lie forces himself to perk up - something he has not done since he was a child, and something that felt really, really freeing.

“Thank you, Will,” Litotes says with sincerity and a raw smile. He feels so adolescent, so embarrassed - a reminder that he is not the absolute adult he believes he is.

“Now where are these willows you mentioned?” he questions teasingly before breaking into a gallop, hoping to stave off further questions. 

i don't want your pity, i just want somebody near me
guess i'm a coward, i just want to feel all right

Galloping after Will and smiling like an idiot - this is the freedom Litotes has been unknowingly craving since he was a boy. The awkward dissension sheds from his brow and he thinks for a moment that if his new friend were to ask about his past now, he would confess every detail without blinking an eye. She does not, though - her carefree speed casting off any wayward worries.

Litotes follows Warlight closely, eyes wide and surprised as they traverse over soft grass and dangerous rock. He loses speed, though, when the heart of the land spreads before them. Will, galloping, does not notice Lie now cantering with eyes so open they seem to reflect the entirety of Hyaline. The mountains are beautiful, so unlike Cattail Lake and so refreshing he gasps. The fuzzy green grass beneath him hugs his hooves, welcomes his haphazard steps. In his heart of hearts, the stallions knows he is home. He is where he belongs - safe - and he sends a desperate prayer to the heavens that this is not ripped from him as easily as his previous life.

Reality quickly zeros back in. The cremello stallion begins galloping again and does not stop until his face is being whipped by the flexible arms of the willows. He laughs aloud, a sound so warm he even surprises himself (so warm, in fact, that his chest is ablaze and his cheeks go pink with embarrassment). He spots Warlight between the lush tails of the willows, searching for her gaze. He is so happy she brought him here, so happy she shared her unabashed personality with him.

“This is so unbelievably beautiful, Will,” he laughs. “Thank you for showing me.” 

i don't want your pity, i just want somebody near me
guess i'm a coward, i just want to feel all right