Common

as I wandered the forest, the green leaves among, i heard a wild flower singing a song

for all her wandering, life hadn’t seen fit to deliver to her the experiences, both intense joys and tribulations, it seemed to bestow so frequently upon others of her kind. it was maybe these lack of experiences that perhaps she should have been grateful for. instead she had started to feel, sad to say, a small amount of bitterness blooming in her soul. as if the world itself was ignoring her existence. she had feelings to be sure, and of course she had experienced many sensations during her life including sadness, anger, happiness… she felt at peace when meandering through the deep grass, listening to it swish in the breeze, felt happiness when her eyes settled on some small beautiful flower that seemed to bloom distinctly for her pleasure, felt sadness and loneliness when she left the home of her childhood and the prairie. it just didn’t seem like enough…enough joy, enough sorrow, and the hollowness was starting to wear on her.

it was petty of her to dwell on these things, and in her own way she recognized that and was ashamed for it…she had been “blessed” with her beauty as her mother used to tell her and she should be grateful for all she had. despite these things, everyone gets to throw a pity party now and again. it was truly plausible that she had simply been alone for far too long.

it seemed that was about to be remedied however, at the approach of the darker hued mare. being usually much more careful and aware of her surroundings it was somewhat of a rarity for her to be caught off-guard. there was always safety in being cautious and aware. this time though her thoughts were lost out at sea and it took her a moment to gather herself before responding outwardly to the soft gentle voice of her company. her bright eyes, clear and blue, rose from the dark frothing waves on the horizon to meet the gaze of vita nova. she froze for a moment, twitching a one ear in her direction while the other remained transfixed on the sound of the waves washing in and out. her hesitation in reply came from nothing more than years worth of timidness cultivated by jeering mares and fillies in the herd she grew up in. their jealousy and ugliness towards her planted fear in every encounter with a female save for one, the sweet and kind brienne during her time in the prairie. she tries to shake away her nerves and stamp out the desire to bristle and shrink away from the larger mare and instead reaches forward with her petite velvety muzzle to exchange breaths. her voice, is quiet and clear when she speaks in return.

petal..is my name. and i am glad to have a little company. i’m actually just returned here to the islands… have you been here very long?

she is not truly the shy type or at least she wasn’t naturally engineered to be so. had pettiness and ugliness not made her a scapegoat in her old life she would have actually been quite bold and outwardly friendly. sour interactions had one by one infused her with a meekness that many would have first assumed was shyness and weakness. for now she tried to set aside these swirling emotions that started to bubble uncomfortably in her heart and focus on being as friendly and kind as she could.

p e t a l

mare : 5 : perlino dun : arabian mustang mutt : 13.3 : kafkaesque

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