rhonen
molten eyes and a smile made for war
Everyone else moves around them as if they are inconsequential. Perhaps they are – a young man and a foal, certainly they aren’t something everyone stops to take notice of. But maybe they just aren’t looking closely enough. They see what they want to see. They don’t take notice that she is sightless, or that he has something dark boiling beneath his copper coat. The first glimpse reveals nothing, and the world around them doesn’t bother to take a second look.
He pauses when she flinches – hesitates – and then finishes his approach a little slower. Rhonen supposes he should have expected her to flinch away, but he hadn’t though it that far through. Again he looks around, but still he doesn’t see a protective parent or guardian hovering nearby. It doesn’t matter if she is angry – he is angry for her. She is vulnerable, despite the fact that she seems to be rather independent, and he thinks someone should be watching out for her.
Despite everything that has happened since, he has warm memories of his childhood. Of how much his family cared for him and his twin.
“Atrani,” he tries out the name, savoring it, considering. It’s nice, he supposes, though Rhonen isn’t sure what kind of name would be not nice. Atrani does roll off of his tongue pleasantly, reminding him of the sound of his sisters’ names. Nairne. Aubri. Will he ever see them again? “You are a Blondie, though,” he teases, wanting to reach out and lip at her mane but he forces himself not to touch. The laugh in his voice smooths out some of the sharp edges, but nothing can make his voice sound completely harmless. “I’m Rhonen.”
She tilts her head towards him, says she is alone, and fury and pain race through him in equal measure. “Surely someone is here looking out for you,” he says, even though his own glances have revealed no one watching that he can see. Sharp. His voice is too sharp, and he takes a deep breath, forcing it back to as light and friendly as he can manage. He doesn’t want to be someone who scares children. “It’s awfully dangerous out here for a kid by herself.” Without the white, she could have been his twin when they were foals. He spends most of his time lashing out at other adults, but this draws him to her. He doesn’t want her to be alone, or as scared as he is.
