She was beside herself with happiness that he was unharmed. If not for how close they were pressed and how thick his cologne was as it filled her soft, pink nostrils, Abigail might have wondered if this was a dream. She rubbed her cheek against his white and gold coat before exhaling softly against his skin, relieved at last. All the worry that had built up beneath her coat slipped away, held against him as she was. Braylen was okay. Braylen was safe. Braylen was here.
She almost felt guilty when he mentioned how safe she had been here in Jabberwocky’s care. Dare she mention the day she’d ventured into Paradise and crossed paths with the new stallion living there? Abigail knew she wouldn’t keep it a secret forever, but how long to hold back from telling it… her last life had fallen apart as secret after secret was revealed; Abigail knew how destructive they could be. “I went into Paradise once,” she said quietly, “hoping you’d returned and I’d simply missed you. But I’m alright.” The important thing was that she’d avoided being held captive by the new stallion there and had instead made it within the safe borders of the Ridge.
They broke apart as Braylen stepped away and her dark ears pressed forward, blue eyes full of him as he spoke once more. Abigail had never lived in a place where it snowed. Her life had been the tropics, where humid air pressed in and summer storms were constantly on the horizon. But there were more important things in her life now than just the surroundings she lived in. “Of course I’ll go with you, Braylen.” She said after a small pause of thought. “My life isn’t here on Atlantis, it’s wherever you go.” He deserved it, she thought, for how good of a soul he was, he deserved at least one friend who would always be there for them as he intended to always be there for them.
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