11-17-2025, 07:20 AM
A relit cigarette never tastes the same, and thats all I'll preach about rekindling old flames
As the sun moves through the sky and towards the horizon, Topsail finds herself relaxing. It is a foreign feeling, that calmness that settles over her skin and deep down into her bones. She has lived the majority of her life on edge, always looking for slights or threats, both real and imagined. She hasn't realized what a heavy burden that was until it was no longer clinging to her shoulders.
Another smile, another unvoiced laugh. It is a girlish and silly sound, but she thinks it would be an enjoyable thing to feel in her mouth if she could. She knows now why her sire and dam were eternal optimists, always filling their cups from the fountain of joy. This warmth, this...contentment? It is a feeling she could get used to.
"Thank you." she says, and the sincerity in her voice matches the slight bow of her head. It is not until now, in this very moment, that Topsail realizes Starbry is right. She has lived, and lived well. Perhaps not by the standards her parents had set, or those set by her kingdom, but she has met and exceeded her own standards. That is all any of them can ask for in the end.
She breaks from her reverie to listen to the young mare, her eyes finding the river once more. Clear water flows along innocently, gurgling pleasantly as it makes its way over the rocks and around the bends. But Topsail knows better than most that wolves are prone to hiding in the skin of sheep. So she doesn't scoff at the other mare, or question her sanity. Instead, she steps away from her and towards the waters edge, her hooves sinking into the mud. When the water laps against her fetlocks she lowers her head, dipping her black muzzle into the water and drinking deeply. The icy water hurts her teeth and freezes her belly, but otherwise tastes no different, and certainly doesn't taste of ooze or monsters.
When she's had her fill she raises her head, clear water dripping from her muzzle. "Thankfully, it doesn't taste any different." she says, her eyes twinkling. A chill passes over her, and she grits her teeth against the onslaught of shivers. With a glance towards the sky she notices the moon beginning its upwards crawl, and she gives it a half smirk before turning back to Starbry. "Winter time means long nights...maybe the river will turn again?" she says with a shrug of her shoulders. She's seen too much to outright deny the others claims, but her curiosity has always been a ferocious thing and seeing is believing.
with love,
topsail
@Starbry