04-27-2021, 03:10 PM
The light that meets the dark
Cheri never would’ve guessed that horses didn’t live in certain, specific homes. In her small world there was only the North and the herds banded together in the three separate places, and she naively assumed that whoever didn’t live in Taiga just lived elsewhere. Every horse had to have a home, right?
Anubias certainly didn’t match what she thought a nomadic horse would look like… he was cleanly and from the looks of it, healthy. Even in this dismal sort-of darkness, his coat had a sheen that proved someone was watching over him and showing him attentive love like Cheri’s parents showed her. He wasn’t even afraid! Creature had come up to him from out of nowhere and he’d just… accepted it. As if that was normal.
Needless to say, Cheri was kind of in awe of him.
“Oooh.” She replied with a slow nod, kind of understanding how he might think there wasn’t much else out there. Just how she’d thought no horse could really be happy and safe outside of a herd. “Umm, do I think Taiga is the best?” She asked herself aloud again, picking her way carefully along the riverbank and through the trees clustered near its water. “My gramma Lilly told me no one is ever the best, one time when she was watching me and my cousins and we were fighting over who could do better skills and stuff.” Her brain worked hard to be nice and yet truthful.
“So I don’t think any home can be the best either?” She turned her cheek to look curiously at Anubias, fearful that he might disapprove of this conclusion. Adorably, both younglings were unaware of the others' thoughts. “I just think it's great because it’s fun there. And I also think it’s cool you live in the forest and that you keep your parents from getting lost.” Cheri smiled.
“I think you’re cool, Anubias. And when I get home,” She pitched her voice with determination, “I’m gonna tell everyone how cool you are.” The leggy filly promised, stumbling over a root before catching her balance again. She tossed her forelock out from her line of sight and sighed.
“Maybe after a nap though.” She whimpered, deflated from the excitement of a busy evening. The murmuring whitecaps of the River were nearby, and Cheri was sure that Anubais wouldn’t leave her until she was ready, so she bent her forelegs and proceeded to hunker down into the dark soil. “If you need to get…” the filly yawned big, “to get home, I think I can follow the water by myself. I’m not so ‘fraid anymore.” She blinked drowsily up at her guide.
Anubias and Creature. They’d given her all the encouragement she needed, just by being helpful friends. “Take care of Creature.” Cheri giggled softly, positive that someday when the sun returned they’d see each other again, all three. Bending her head until it rested comfortably against the crook of her knee, Cheri closed her eyes and tucked her wings close by her side in the dark, listening out for any goodbyes and eventually, the sound of her new friend and his companion as they went their separate way.
Anubias certainly didn’t match what she thought a nomadic horse would look like… he was cleanly and from the looks of it, healthy. Even in this dismal sort-of darkness, his coat had a sheen that proved someone was watching over him and showing him attentive love like Cheri’s parents showed her. He wasn’t even afraid! Creature had come up to him from out of nowhere and he’d just… accepted it. As if that was normal.
Needless to say, Cheri was kind of in awe of him.
“Oooh.” She replied with a slow nod, kind of understanding how he might think there wasn’t much else out there. Just how she’d thought no horse could really be happy and safe outside of a herd. “Umm, do I think Taiga is the best?” She asked herself aloud again, picking her way carefully along the riverbank and through the trees clustered near its water. “My gramma Lilly told me no one is ever the best, one time when she was watching me and my cousins and we were fighting over who could do better skills and stuff.” Her brain worked hard to be nice and yet truthful.
“So I don’t think any home can be the best either?” She turned her cheek to look curiously at Anubias, fearful that he might disapprove of this conclusion. Adorably, both younglings were unaware of the others' thoughts. “I just think it's great because it’s fun there. And I also think it’s cool you live in the forest and that you keep your parents from getting lost.” Cheri smiled.
“I think you’re cool, Anubias. And when I get home,” She pitched her voice with determination, “I’m gonna tell everyone how cool you are.” The leggy filly promised, stumbling over a root before catching her balance again. She tossed her forelock out from her line of sight and sighed.
“Maybe after a nap though.” She whimpered, deflated from the excitement of a busy evening. The murmuring whitecaps of the River were nearby, and Cheri was sure that Anubais wouldn’t leave her until she was ready, so she bent her forelegs and proceeded to hunker down into the dark soil. “If you need to get…” the filly yawned big, “to get home, I think I can follow the water by myself. I’m not so ‘fraid anymore.” She blinked drowsily up at her guide.
Anubias and Creature. They’d given her all the encouragement she needed, just by being helpful friends. “Take care of Creature.” Cheri giggled softly, positive that someday when the sun returned they’d see each other again, all three. Bending her head until it rested comfortably against the crook of her knee, Cheri closed her eyes and tucked her wings close by her side in the dark, listening out for any goodbyes and eventually, the sound of her new friend and his companion as they went their separate way.
@[Anubias] <3