[open] By the sun and the moon [Borderline]

[Borderline]

despite the overwhelming odds, tomorrow came

I feel exhausted. More exhausted than I should. It’s like the exhaustion has penetrated my bones. Did I feel this exhausted after Memorie was born? I’m not quite sure, but my guess would be that I hadn’t, because it feels like I am more exhausted than I’ve ever been in my life. I lay my head back, vaguely aware that @[Yanhua] was helping the foal from his birthing sac and had responded to my loopy statement. I feel his lips press gently to my cheek, and I lean into it, though without much strength behind it, he likely can’t even feel the little bit of pressure as I press into him.

My mind seems to flicker in and out of consciousness for a moment, but I am aware just long enough to hear Yanhua ask if I could stand and whether everything feels alright. Yes, I say, but I don’t realize that I say it in my head and not out loud to my mate. Even so, I shift my weight over my legs and strain to push myself into an upright position. It is of no avail, though, as I am too weak right now to do much of anything. Heck, I can’t even differentiate between what’s in my head and what isn’t.

I forget that my original task was to stand, and my blue eyes fall on the tiny bundle that is the colt I just birthed. He looks healthy, though not altogether happy. He is looking at me with a mixture of confusion and concern on his face. I can understand the confusion. What’s not to be confused about suddenly coming out of a dark, warm, cozy womb into a dark, inhospitable, cold world? The concern is what concerns me. Why is he concerned? What does an itty bitty baby have to be concerned about?

A familiar sensation washes over me, a memory. Well, I think it’s a memory, anyway, because all it shows is darkness, but a soft, muffled voice could be heard in the memory. Me. My voice. It’s my turn to look confused, as I look down at the colt. “Is that you?” I ask him. This time, miraculously, the words are spoken out loud. In response, he reaches his soft, red muzzle up to brush against mine, as if to tell me “yes.” I smile softly and lean into his touch, feeling a bit of energy flood back into me.

I shift my weight once more and push myself shakily from the ground into a standing position, where I teeter dangerously. I side-step once in one direction, then back again in the other, trying to keep myself from falling over, though I am not completely aware of even moving. A sigh wrenches itself from my lips. A drunken kind of sigh that expresses my exhaustion where my words do not. With a smile, I reach down and gently brush the still-wet fluff of mane on the crest of the colt’s neck. In response, he shifts his own weight beneath him and tries to rise to his hooves. Somehow, he makes an easier job of this than I had done, launching up onto the spindly stilts that are his legs. He stumbles around for a second, trying to get his bearings, then manages to stand still, legs splayed out in an awkward manner.

I wasn’t here alone, was I? I shake my head, my blue mane falling into my face. No, there was someone here with me, wasn’t there? I look around to see Yanhua, and a smile cracks my lips. “Hi, m’love,” I say, groggily, but happily as well. “What are we doing here?” I look around. It’s hard to see in the dark, but this land does not look familiar.

Borderline

Image by Calcifer

Lol. This did not go where I thought it would go. But it definitely spices things up a bit! XD