The stallion relaxed but El Aran could not. It was impossible for her to grant him trust as easily as he seemed to have done. The male was full of sounds, punctuating snorts with harsh, guttural rumblings that the black mare couldn’t recall every hearing from a horse. It reminded her of the low warnings the coyotes voiced. El Aran’s mouth twitched as she discouraged a smile, although the image of Volk, as he called himself, emitting the high yips and squeals of the jackals sent a tremor of amusement through her. The seer’s natural expression was not a smile: it was, in fact, a foreign feeling to her, and she wondered at the stallion as he touched his muzzle against hers. Her nose twitched again but she did not jerk her head away.
Progress?
She glanced down at his hoof as he stamped and emitted a low snort. "Together," she agreed. The word calmed her a bit, although as the curly haired male began to circle her, El Aran felt her tension thrum to life for a third time. He rumbled continuously as he moved and the black mare swiveled her ears to track him until he arrived on the opposite side of her. It did not escape her that when he looked away from her it was the first time he gave her a reprieve from his scrutiny, and she exhaled slowly as she willed herself to calm. Despite how wound up she felt, it took only a moment for her energy to drain and her legs to start shaking from weariness. Every muscle in her body ached from how tightly she had been holding herself during those moments of adrenaline, and now she let her head hang a bit as she breathed deeply.
"Please. I need to rest." She hated that she had to trust him, hated that any horse could affect her so strongly, but she had no choice. El Aran folded her legs and lay down beside him, lacking the strength to move herself into the shade. His shadow fell on her, though, and it would be enough until she woke and could shuffle her way under a tree. The black mare tucked her nose in the crook of one foreleg and fell into darkness.
el aran
Seer of Aşk. |