Playground

Illaine saw the other filly eying her wings, and shuffled the feathered appendages self-consciously. Wings were not uncommon in the Jungle; Eerie had wings like a dragon, and Seraphina, the griffon Amazon, had feathered wings just like Illaine’s. Still, they were unusual in her family – neither her mother nor her sisters had wings, and to the seal bay girl, they simply made her stand out even more than she already did by her inability to speak and her strange coloring (the rest of her family were jet black, as was typical of those of Friesian descent).
The other girl watched her quizzically, and Illaine knew it was because she wasn’t speaking. A dark flush of embarrassment crossed through the little filly, and her wings shuffled at her side again. Finally, just as Illaine was scolding herself for the stupidity of this decision and was about to leave, Starsmoulder announced that they should play tag. Blinking in surprise at this turn of events, Illaine stared at the other girl with her honey eyes, as if trying to see if Starsmoulder was being genuine. It seemed that she was, for she leapt forward to tag Illaine before darting away.
The mute girl’s lips turned upwards into a tiny smile before she dashed off after the other filly, only to stumble to a grinding halt, sending little pieces of dirt flying up from her hooves as another filly approaches. Illaine eyes the stranger cautiously, wondering if she’ll be as seemingly understanding as Starsmoulder. Something in the new girl’s hopeful face makes her think she might be, and the seal bay smiles and nods at Starsmoulder’s acceptance of the other filly. The starry filly asked who should be it first, and Illaine motioned with her head towards Alisdaire, thinking that such a defined role in the game might help make her more comfortable. She might be exempted from real social interaction due to her disability, but Illaine was smart like her eldest sister, and she watched people; Alisdaire seemed shy but oh so willing to break out of her shell given the chance.