Off the shore lightning strikes the rolling waves, thunder threatening to shake the island as the storm begins to approach. The monsoon season has the island securely is grip and fighting it was as fruitless as the mare trying to toss the soaking hair from her face. Rivulets running down his unperturbed face, Ailill watched the strange mare try to fight the rain and the fate that seemed to have befallen her. In the back of his mind the young boy wondered why the majority of the humorless horses seemed to be drawn to the island’s thick tropical forest. One would have thought the calls and songs of the birds would have been uplifting and joyful. But no. Even the rocks beneath his feet carried more joy in their sedentary solitude than this fiery mare before him.
One ear twisted bemusedly at her words, giving the young man a classic look of adolescent insolence coupled lovingly with knowing experience. His lips twisted into a smile that would make the trickster devils think twice before taunting. Nonchalant, he followed the Arabian at a respectful distance (remembering the time he got kicked in the face by a feisty filly), pretending to be interested in the pools of water around them, or the trails of rain down the trees. As they stepped further into his home, his smile continued to curl on his face.
“Perhaps my culture and customs mean nothing to you…” His voice danced with a laughter that sparked in his blue eyes as well. “...but as a supposed gentleman, I feel the need to tell you… You’re going the wrong way.”
His gaze looked to the trail over her shoulder. It started to slope downhill, the trenches of rain growing thicker with mud. Masked by the sounds of the storms and the rolling thunder, the not too distant river rumbled invitingly to anyone who wanted to tempt their fate in its watery embrace. It was true the forest was thicker there, before it opened to the usually calm running water, but in this weather it would offer no shelter or relief.
Ailill stepped aside to show the other option. Up the trails the terrain turned mildly rocky, though still covered in broad leafed trees. The foliage thinned into rock faces, hiding sheltered caves that granted a safe haven to those who found them. Higher ground, dry, and cozy, it took a knowing eye to find them. Or a friendly face to show another the way.
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