pink is the night; any

[litotes]

As content as Litotes feels while listening to the dying call of daytime creatures, the shadow of night reminds him of his seemingly perpetual flaw: solitude brought on by his actions (and an inability - perhaps denial - to realize it is his fault). The silence of the dark brings a violent shiver across his hide - rejection of self, in its most visceral state, streaming angrily across his body.

Lie lifts his head, curved Akhal-Teke ears pricking to attention - how quickly and horribly he is made aware of his company. They are not his, complete strangers all watching time pass quietly, but their proximity forces a tingle down his spine. How did he not notice them before? The stallion kicks himself for his trance. Even now he is not sure how he noticed them (Was it their inquisitive eyes? Or was it the thrill of peace with the night coursing through them all?). Despite the anxiety of it all, he had a sense that they were all enjoying the same event. Lie ignores them, at least for the next few moments, and continues to chew what grass was left in his mouth.

The night is full of surprises. Litotes has no idea how to approach them. Should he? Perhaps they are all three left best on their own, needing nothing more than a quiet understanding of one another. This is intimacy at its gentlest, giving nothing to each other (asking nothing of each other). Or is he so damaged that he cannot make connections? Is he lying to himself, even now, in a mind he believes to be so clear?

Should he speak? The nervous whirring of his mind will not cease.

Finally, with a resigned roll of his shoulders, the ticking stallion turns his head enough to see the two with one glowing eye. He does not utter a word, but exudes a casual invitation to come closer.