through the darkness to the dawn
It does not occur to him that perhaps she had not wanted to be disturbed, that maybe she had been enjoying her solitude before he’d come along and shattered it.
He is a social creature by nature, friendly and extroverted and always keen for conversation, so he often forgets that not everyone is the same as he is. Not everyone is fond of company. And she looks up at him and he realizes too late that there is a good chance his intrusion is not welcomed. It is not lost on him that her smile does not reach her eyes but he does not yet understand the sensation of foreboding as it curls itself into the pit of his gut.
But she returns his greeting rather than shunning him and that helps to temper whatever trepidation he feels. He sinks a little closer and then closer still until his opal hooves have disappeared beneath the surface and the water licks cold at his ankles. The frigid temperature chases a shockwave down the length of his spine, hitches his breath and makes him shudder.
He wonders if it’s magic that makes her impervious to the cold or if it’s something else entirely but he does not ask. He simply studies her a long moment, smiling still. He glances down at the water then, tilts his head, watches the current sweep a flower petal down the long stretch of river.
“I think so,” he answers and does not feel embarrassed at having admitted it, even if his dislike of the cold might be construed as a weakness. He laughs quietly and shakes his head, oblivious to the several flower petals that fall from his mane and chase the first petal along with the current. “I don’t have much experience with it, but I don’t think I like it much at all.”
@[rosebay]