09-18-2017, 07:28 AM
There is a brief moment when Zhenga's eyes are closed that Ivar's smile softens. He almost - almost! - reaches toward her, but one set of instincts trumps the other before the thought is even conscious.
There is no water here, after all.
Instead, he returns her consenting nod with a more subdued smile, the jest of his previous statement fading away with the echoes of his laughter. There are few residents in this hilly realm, but sound carries, and they've arrived rather late. The piebald stallion would prefer to keep on the good side of those living here, especially those that he has not yet met.
The roan mare asks if there is a safe place she can spend the night. Ivar tilts his head curiously - surely she didn't think that Ivar would bring her somewhere unsafe? He feels a brief urge to poke fun at her caution, but it is fleeting, and quickly swallowed by something else. The stallion takes a step closer, using his muzzle to guide Zhenga's gaze in the direction of a darker smudge on the navy blue horizon.
"See that?" He asks, knowing that it will be difficult to see at all, but not really minding. "That's my banyan tree."
Most night he spends with Heda, but there are times - like tonight - when he is out patrolling or adventuring, and he rests elsewhere rather than disturb her sleep. On those nights, he shelters beneath the wide canopy of the distant banyan, often half submerged in the spring beside it.
"We can stay there tonight, and I can show you Loess in the morning. I'll make sure sure nothing crawls up on you in the night." There, a flash of humor. It doesn't diminish the offer he's made, but Ivar wouldn't truly be himself if he did not take time to laugh.
"Not unless you want it to, of course." He winks, flirtatious, but doesn't give the idea time to ruminate before he is stepping forward, away from Zhenga and toward the tree that has faded even more into the darkness.
"Come on," he says, leading the way through the dark land, following a path that he is just beginning to become familiar with himself. It runs at the bottom of the hills, with nothing but step grassy slopes to either side of them - even those are dulled by the darkness.
When the glossy leaves of the banyan obscure even the moonlit overhead, Ivar looks back over his shoulder at the roan mare. His brown eyes are even darker here in the shadows and the night, but his smile is bright and his tone warm when he tells her: "Rest here. I'll keep watch and will wake you in time to see the sunrise."
There is no water here, after all.
Instead, he returns her consenting nod with a more subdued smile, the jest of his previous statement fading away with the echoes of his laughter. There are few residents in this hilly realm, but sound carries, and they've arrived rather late. The piebald stallion would prefer to keep on the good side of those living here, especially those that he has not yet met.
The roan mare asks if there is a safe place she can spend the night. Ivar tilts his head curiously - surely she didn't think that Ivar would bring her somewhere unsafe? He feels a brief urge to poke fun at her caution, but it is fleeting, and quickly swallowed by something else. The stallion takes a step closer, using his muzzle to guide Zhenga's gaze in the direction of a darker smudge on the navy blue horizon.
"See that?" He asks, knowing that it will be difficult to see at all, but not really minding. "That's my banyan tree."
Most night he spends with Heda, but there are times - like tonight - when he is out patrolling or adventuring, and he rests elsewhere rather than disturb her sleep. On those nights, he shelters beneath the wide canopy of the distant banyan, often half submerged in the spring beside it.
"We can stay there tonight, and I can show you Loess in the morning. I'll make sure sure nothing crawls up on you in the night." There, a flash of humor. It doesn't diminish the offer he's made, but Ivar wouldn't truly be himself if he did not take time to laugh.
"Not unless you want it to, of course." He winks, flirtatious, but doesn't give the idea time to ruminate before he is stepping forward, away from Zhenga and toward the tree that has faded even more into the darkness.
"Come on," he says, leading the way through the dark land, following a path that he is just beginning to become familiar with himself. It runs at the bottom of the hills, with nothing but step grassy slopes to either side of them - even those are dulled by the darkness.
When the glossy leaves of the banyan obscure even the moonlit overhead, Ivar looks back over his shoulder at the roan mare. His brown eyes are even darker here in the shadows and the night, but his smile is bright and his tone warm when he tells her: "Rest here. I'll keep watch and will wake you in time to see the sunrise."