Taytim

El Aran’s response was equally not lost on Taytim when she approached. The mare, too slid to a halt. Sobered by the fear they had apparently caused in the desert dweller, smiles faded and excitement dwindled. Taytim had forgotten how odd her first acquaintance was, but her pleasure at seeing her still stayed strong. Differences aside, she had a fondness for the mare and found her interesting and delightful to be around. If complicated to understand. Herself calmed, but knowing her daughter to be otherwise, Taytim snorted gently at Taika, calling her over.



The filly’s ears flicked briefly at her mother’s request, refusing to leave her spot before she had her answers from the stranger. Once El Aran spoke the foal found that she was not satisfied with the answer. Being alive was something Taika was sure she had always been. The idea that her mother had a life before her was not a concept she could grasp. Everyone she had met so far either existed in tandem with her mother from the first weeks of her birth, or she had met on her own terms without her mother. There was no way for someone from Taytim’s past to have been absent only to return now.

“I don’t believe it.” She proclaimed resolutely. “If I was not there, it did not happen.” As if that were final, Taika returned to her mother’s side and comforting nose.



“I am older than you, my dear.” The mother said softly to her child. “I did have a life before you popped out of me.”



“Nope! Not possible.” Her young mind flew away from the conversation with the butterfly that meandered nearby. Attention captured by the beautiful colors, the filly who was so swiftly coming to resemble black smoke in body, with her mane kissed by fire and sun, dashed away from the adults to meet her new flying friend.



Taytim watched the filly with the upmost affection on her face. Though Taika was the biggest stress and worry in her life, the new spirit brought her more joy than she had felt in her life. She brought herself back to El Aran and smiled proudly. “She is mine, yes. But I promise she would deny it at times.” Stretching her neck out into the sky, the mare released more of the tension she had been holding from their arrival. Dark eyes looked around. “No, I came here with a stallion and spent the winter. I figured more mares could help me keep an eye on her.” Considering how often Taika found herself roaming around the Crossing, it was obvious to anyone who knew the pair that Taytim had been wrong.

~:Mare
~:Morgan Mutt
~:15.3hh
~:Black Chestnut