"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
He could tell she was thinking, her gears turning in the silence of the night. Her eyes were distance, such were his. Then the question came, he had loved someone. He had loved a stallion so much in his past.... Loved the pale stud so much that the scars that marred him were set there for him. Saving him had done this. Though it hadnt done much good.
"I have not."
He spoke, voice more hard than he wanted it to be. He apologized quietly, moving away from her. Krigare stood , shoulders hunched as he walked to the edge of the clearing. Shuddering.
"I- I loved someone once. Its hard for me to talk about."
Sleep little darling, do not cry, and I will sing a lullaby...
As he contemplates her questions, a variety of emotions pass over his face, his body becoming tense and rigid beside her. When the words come out of his mouth they are rough, forceful. Jah-Lilah doesn't flinch though, she stays unmoving in the still of the night. She watches him from her position, legs folded daintily beneath her. As he mumbles a soft apology, her body is made cold by his sudden absence. Her gaze follows him as he slinks away like a guilty dog, wondering what's made him so frigid all of a sudden. He threatens to leave, toeing the edge of the private thicket they've claimed as their own. It's only temporary, on loan from the Earth-Mother, but for the moment it's theirs. She finds relief in the fact that he stops before departing. A tremor racks his body, he's in obvious pain. As he expresses that he had, in fact, loved somebody before, his voice nearly breaks. My bohemian rhapsody takes this moment to keep her big, fat mouth shut for once, and gives him her undivided attention. She blinks slowly, bobbing her head at him encouragingly. She's done everything she can to make this a safe place for self-expression, now all she can do is wait.
...Boy, you're gonna carry that weight, carry that weight a long time.
The stallions eyes burned with unshed tears, his heart aching beneath his bones. She was just trying to get to know him right? Why did he have to be like this. Temperamental, rude, sad.
"Love is a strange thing Goose."
He smiles now, trying to relax himself once more. She hadnt meant to hurt him, or offend him. She just asked a question, so the stallion turned to face her. Muzzle reaching out to lip gently at her mane.
"Its uncontrollable and unpredictable."
Much like himself, or the waters that they had met at.
How strange this was to krigare, talking of things long since buried. To someone who would listen, REALLY listen.
As he nears her again, he speaks of love. Jah-Lilah knows of love. Knows the feeling of pins and needles all over, the rush of blood to all her extremities. The butterflies in her stomach that threatened to overtake her. She hadn't felt that in so long. It was no one's fault but her own. My little mare loves to be loved, but hates to be kept. She loves to travel, loves to find new love. Even now, as she shares these small moments with the immense sulking stallion, she is antsy. She's not sure why, she senses change in the wind, perhaps? She smiles at his observation, he is right, love is so many things.
He comes closer and lips at her mane. She turns to him, allowing him. Her face changes to one of confusion at his expression of gratitude. "Thank you? For what, Stands-Like-A-Stone?"
He knew that his heart thrummed for the mare, and he buried the feeling. The two were the same, married to the road, and she was a jealous lover. He smiled softly at her, eyes softening as he watched the crimson mare.
"Thank you for listening."
He whispered, ears flicking back as flurries of snow began to dot the ground around them, the night blinking with golden stars. He cleared his throat, backing up slightly. For maybe he had made her uncomfortable? Who knows. The mass of a stallion backed up smile breaking slightly in the snow around them.
She watches his deliberate movements and can tell he's anxious too. Her bones creak and crack she rises up from the snow around her. She nears him, keeping warm. He is a strange stallion, but she likes strange. He has many more stories for her to unravel, she can tell. She leans on him quietly, laughing.
"That is nothing to thank me for, it's just the right thing to do. What kind of story-teller would I be if I didn't listen to the tales of others too! It's nice sometimes to just be still."
She watches the cold, white flurries fall around them, sitting lightly on their whiskers. She licks them off her nose, smiling. She bounds off, trotting playful patterns throughout the forest. It had been so long since she'd been in a place that had snow! She was absolutely delighted, and was going to take full advantage of the opportunity to romp in the sticky blanket all around.
He allowed her words to hang in the air, almost managing to reply to them before the crimson mare set off once more head high as she played in the flakes that fell slowly around them.
"Curious creature."
Krigare chuckled quietly before bounding off to join her, hooves rising high as the bay played in the snow drifts that had gathered on the edges of their temporary territory. His head tossed, soft snorts of contempt releasing through his nostrils as he trotted about.
Occasionally he would nip at the dark mares sides, nosing piles of snow over to her.
He was having more fun than he had known he could have.
She laughed at his antics, he wasn't as hard as he'd like to be. He flicked snow her way, kicking up his heels. She ducked and dodged his teeth and hooves, he was rusty, but could still move. It was easy to see he hadn't been this relaxed in a while. Silly Stone, Jah-Lilah could read him like a book. He was a joy to watch, darting about like a newborn seeing his first snow. It warmed Jah's heart. She always felt like this was for her, bringing people out.
She had found in her lifetime that most were not miserable, just out of touch with things. They get so wrapped up in their own self-centered bullshit, they forget there's more out there. As Stands-Like-A-Stone finds joy in nothing more than frozen water, my redbone finds joy in him. He's back with the earth, the sky, with those around him. Sometimes the rhythm is off, nobody is listening to the music. Not everyone can dance, Jah-Lilah. But everyone should. She snaps out of her reverie, shaking her head. Shit was gettin' deep there, easy girl. She whinnies after him and bounds over, squealing as she slides playfully to a stop behind him.
He would not deny the thudding in his chest as she approached, or the way his dark heart stuttered against his ribs as she spoke to him so kindly. She was lost in her thoughts for a moment before she finally bounded towards him, he stopped, just fast enough to where if the mare was not careful she would run into him.
He smiled softly at her, his ears perked to listen to his feet crunching in the snow beneath him as he turned to her once more. For a brief moment he allowed himself to get lost in the expanse of her light green hues. His own eyes softening briefly.
She could tell there was a level of intimacy growing between them, and a longing in his eyes. Jah-Lilah was used to emotions running high, everything feeling intense, so he couldn't hide from her. She played dumb as usual. She nearly slammed into him as he stops, veering to the right at the last moment. Her teeth come in contact with his rump, but it's a gesture of play and affection. She whinnies again, a laughing sound, and scrambles away from him, kicking up snow behind her. She turns to meet his gaze, feeling him staring her down. "What is it, Stone?
![[Image: krigare_by_voltum-dbctewi.png]](http://orig01.deviantart.net/7a05/f/2017/166/6/b/krigare_by_voltum-dbctewi.png)
