have you ever thought about what protects our hearts?
just a cage of rib bones and other various parts
The noise of her call cracks quickly through the otherwise silent forest, sharp edges slicing through the darkness with ease. For a moment, he closes his eyes, groaning internally. This was precisely why he had come here at night—precisely why he had chosen tonight of all nights to traipse through all of the snow. For a moment (a brief, beautiful, glittering moment), he considers continuing on as if he had not heard her, as if her call had not reached his ears. They could be two ships passing in the middle of the night.
Their waters lapping, but their paths never actually crossing.
Except, of course, that he has paused, one spotted leg lifted and stilled, his head tilted subconsciously in her direction. Except, of course, that he was raised to be polite, to be friendly. He may have forgotten most, if not all, of his parent’s teachings, and he may look more homeless than regal now, but there was a time when he had been a prince. A colt born to a King and Queen of old, raised to be polite, to be caring. Despite how he wishes, he simply cannot turn that part of him off, cannot absolve him of it completely.
So, without great effort, he turns his head toward her, gray eyes startling clear as he finds the mare of onyx and fire. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, fog plumes in front of his face, and then he sets his way toward her, cutting a path slowly through the snow, hooves practically dragging. When he is near enough to her (that is, near enough that he could be heard), he pauses. There is still space between them, still room for him to breathe, and he hopes that she will keep it that way. “Hello,” his voice gruff, a touch darker than his parents would have liked. He considers giving her his name, asking why she had called him over, but he decides against it. He had done enough by approaching her. He would leave it at that.
so it's fairly simple to cut right through the mess
and to stop the muscle that makes us confess
