03-18-2021, 05:12 PM
The light that meets the dark
Cheri felt instantly better the moment Anubias touched her. It was as if he’d unplugged her concern from the source by giving her just the slightest kindness, replacing her insecurity with reassurance. He reminded her of Reynard, her older twin, who always seemed to know the answer to tough questions. She nodded; he was right, her parents were probably just lost somewhere like she was. This darkness was heavy, anyone could get turned around in it.
He even manages to wrangle a little laugh out of Cheri. The idea of him having to constantly track down his own parents! Funny image—Anubias was a funny colt. A friendly, funny colt who Cheri liked very much.
“Then they’re very lucky to have you, and so am I.” She answered him.
While he thought, Cheri slipped closer to the water and lowered her nose for a quick drink. She let her ears wander freely, felt the way each gulp traveled down her dry throat, and then wiped her lips over her foreleg to clean up any drops that might’ve traveled messily down her chin before stepping back into place beside Anubias. He was being strangely quiet, studious perhaps. Cheri couldn’t make out the finer points of his expression, so she missed the little indicators that would’ve given her a hint at his frustration.
“Well… Pappa Yan is tall, very tall. And he’s brown and gold like an ear of dry wheat. He’s got big horns on his head, and his hair glows. Momma Amarine is dark black, like me. And she’s got these smooth blue gems covering her body—oh, and she has butterfly wings! You can’t really tell because she keeps them folded a lot, but they’re there.” Cheri explained all of this with a smile, and then when she’d finished the smile disappeared. All of a sudden the reality of her situation hit her hard: Anubias was kind and sweet, but even his infinite sweetness couldn’t shake the idea that Cheri might never get her own hair tousled by Yan again, or be rocked to sleep beside Ama like she was accustomed to.
Looking away in fear that Anubias might see her, Cheri bit back the tears springing up again. Winds, she always had to go and be soft like a filly. Memorie wouldn’t cry, and Reynard would probably be out enjoying himself. She needed to stop. Crying wasn’t going to get her anywhere.
“Wait,” she suddenly remembered something ingrained in her, sniffling away her sadness as Cheri turned back toward Anubias, “I think if we follow the River upstream I can find the way.” The glowing filly told him. Mother and Father had taught her once that the River divided their home from Hyaline; she could use the water as her guide! Cheri’s sadness faded, replaced instead with a sliver of hope, and she kept herself from laughing with hysterical glee by smiling and bumping Anubias with her nose instead.
“Come on!” She urged him, eager to be on the way when only a few seconds ago she’d been too petrified to move.
He even manages to wrangle a little laugh out of Cheri. The idea of him having to constantly track down his own parents! Funny image—Anubias was a funny colt. A friendly, funny colt who Cheri liked very much.
“Then they’re very lucky to have you, and so am I.” She answered him.
While he thought, Cheri slipped closer to the water and lowered her nose for a quick drink. She let her ears wander freely, felt the way each gulp traveled down her dry throat, and then wiped her lips over her foreleg to clean up any drops that might’ve traveled messily down her chin before stepping back into place beside Anubias. He was being strangely quiet, studious perhaps. Cheri couldn’t make out the finer points of his expression, so she missed the little indicators that would’ve given her a hint at his frustration.
“Well… Pappa Yan is tall, very tall. And he’s brown and gold like an ear of dry wheat. He’s got big horns on his head, and his hair glows. Momma Amarine is dark black, like me. And she’s got these smooth blue gems covering her body—oh, and she has butterfly wings! You can’t really tell because she keeps them folded a lot, but they’re there.” Cheri explained all of this with a smile, and then when she’d finished the smile disappeared. All of a sudden the reality of her situation hit her hard: Anubias was kind and sweet, but even his infinite sweetness couldn’t shake the idea that Cheri might never get her own hair tousled by Yan again, or be rocked to sleep beside Ama like she was accustomed to.
Looking away in fear that Anubias might see her, Cheri bit back the tears springing up again. Winds, she always had to go and be soft like a filly. Memorie wouldn’t cry, and Reynard would probably be out enjoying himself. She needed to stop. Crying wasn’t going to get her anywhere.
“Wait,” she suddenly remembered something ingrained in her, sniffling away her sadness as Cheri turned back toward Anubias, “I think if we follow the River upstream I can find the way.” The glowing filly told him. Mother and Father had taught her once that the River divided their home from Hyaline; she could use the water as her guide! Cheri’s sadness faded, replaced instead with a sliver of hope, and she kept herself from laughing with hysterical glee by smiling and bumping Anubias with her nose instead.
“Come on!” She urged him, eager to be on the way when only a few seconds ago she’d been too petrified to move.
@[Anubias]