07-29-2017, 08:03 PM
An enemy who gets in, risks the danger of becoming a friend.
If only he had known.
Around them, the small balls of fire burn bright above their heads lending brilliance and warmth to the cave.
How she’d get under his skin and into his heart.
How taking shelter from the storm would lead to their first coupling unlike his times out on the grass with a mare or two that never meant a thing to him, how rainfall and love was sweeter than moonlight and passion.
If only he had known.
Each of them had changed;
She, growing more lovely and mature by the day and rounder in the belly. It was a sure sign that she was with foal though he could never have imagined it’d be two. How it never occurred to him that a twin could beget twins is beyond him but it didn’t. He thought only how he’d grown older, thicker, and more besotted by her by the day and how in him, he discovered on the cusp of the Mountain subsiding and the Restitution, that he had fire magic now. Well, it lead to more time spent from Antonia’s side and more time spent at his sister’s who well understood the sudden discovery of fire - something that had connected them but never manifested itself in them, and how alike to their father they were, troubled lives and loves and all of that. But he’d often kept an eye out for her - a red eye that looked and found and watched over her, and she was never far from his thoughts, even when he ran as a thing of fire as his twin’s side. He always came back to the sea and the way it reached for his hooves and that memory of rain that played inside his mind, over and over.
Spear looked for her now;
It was not like her to easily evade his watch but he had been caught in a moment of heavy dark thought. He pushed those thoughts aside as he realized she is not where he last saw her amidst the golden vegetation and the morning light. That can mean only one thing! He is a stallion and knows the natural laws of their governance, that when a pregnant mare goes missing, the hour of foaling is near. Spear scrambles down from his perch above the sea and begins to search her out, knowing that mares like birthing in dark safe spots that predators cannot get to them in. Antonia is smart like that, and he knows instinct would guide her as well and he felt a swelling of pride in his chest because she was a smart and beautiful mother and he cannot again believe how he was blessed to meet her that day before the rainfall.
He spies her tracks in the sand and the smell of her having passed this way but he hangs back, just outside the cavern she has picked for herself. Spear paces to pass the time, knowing that she knows he cannot be too far off from her and he awaits her summons until his ears prick and catch the low sweet croon of it from inside the dark cavern. He is anxious and excited all at once and nearly charges the mouth of the cave in his haste, remembering to tread slowly as he ingresses. “Antonia?” he beckons, his mouth going dry as conjures up small balls of flame that float ahead of him lighting the way to the back where she is with them - twins! He knew it! Mouth agape, his eyes shine with pride and love - he cannot deny it, as he looks upon this scene and realizes it is the most beautiful thing he has ever laid eyes upon in this world.
“They are beautiful,” he murmurs.
“You are beautiful,” as he takes a step closer to brush his lips against her cheek, mindful of their two small bodies between him and her. He can see that she is tired but full of adrenaline, and he has never been more proud than in this moment. “Beautiful,” he echoes softly, the only sentiment his brain and mouth seem capable of at the present.
Around them, the small balls of fire burn bright above their heads lending brilliance and warmth to the cave.
spear