where we break when our hearts are strong enough
It is not long before she is approached by another.
Ivy lifts her head from where it skims the edges of the water, bringing her dark eyes to the other mare grinning brightly at her. She smiles in response, although hers is a little quieter, the edges of it not quite sticking. It shimmers in place, barely perched, but remains all the same. “It’s nice to meet you, Kensa,” her voice is as quiet as her smile. murmured through the tangling breezes around them. “I’m Ivy.”
As the other mare mentions the stallion, at least she assumes that’s who she means, she just nods, although everything in her is telling her to leave. She doesn’t like crowds. Doesn’t like loud noises. And yet here she is, placing herself in the middle of a party that is sure to have both.
Still—her heart thrums for adventure, for stories, for stardust dreams and she accepts.
Without another word, she removes herself from the water, wading through it to the beach and then up to where the others are gathered, so clearly connected to one another. Her own indigo eyes trace over each of them, dipping her elegant head in greeting before finding Rhaegor once more. They linger there for a second, something like secrets blossoming in the moment, before she breaks away to listen politely.
When there is a lull in the conversation, she interjects just slightly. “My name is Ivy.” It’s the polite thing to do, after all, when surrounded by all of these new faces, although she’s not sure entirely that they truly care about gathering and remembering each name. Still, even though her heart thrums in her chest, a caged bird around all of these warm bodies, she does her best to stay still, ignoring the way her legs want to dance underneath her, the way she wants to flee to the quiet and the dark of her evening hour.
When Rhaegor bursts from their group, a look of puzzlement sweeps over her features, but it feels like relief as much as anything. Taking it as an opportunity to step away, she takes a measured step back.
“I’m going to have a swim,” she says quietly, to no one in particular, before turning toward the water.
Whether they hear her, whether any follow, is of little consequence to her.
Already, she feels lighter, more at peace, as she steps into the water, letting it rise up her legs, hitting her chest and then lifting her weight off the ground entirely. Buoyed by it, her legs begin to churn under her and she goes further out into the body of it, a smile crossing her face as the noise begins to fade.
we can bow 'cause our music's warmer than blood
hi. she's here. she introduces herself. she excuses herself to go swim.