I would honestly love you now,
But I would lovingly let you down.
Jabari had hardly said any words at all, but he can feel the mood of the conversation turning against him. He is too timid, stricken even, to hold the painted mare's gaze for more than a few seconds at a time. Every time he looked at her, all he could see was Celestria's ghostly white form smiling devilishly back at him. It seems Vanya picked up on this tension, because she is quick to dismiss his existence in this conversation at all.
Jabari attempts to offer the spotted mare some vague sense of comfort in his brief remarks, of their connection to Luthien. But Titania seems troubled, or perhaps too busy trying to decipher two very different themes in this conversation, offered from Vanya and himself. Jabari too, could feel his heartbeat quicken in his chest the more Vanya revealed. The painted mare was clearly also pregnant, likely by Rougaru, he assumed. But she brashly confided in both of them - strangers, and technically enemies of Rougaru - some secret desire to be swept away from this place. Jabari's ears flicked forward and back atop his poll in confusion. Why would she so blatantly trust two strangers with this sensitive information? His pink nostrils flared as he sucked in short breaths, trying to buy himself some time before having to verbally react to Vanya's plea for help.
Celestria spoke in such a similar way. When Shamwari and Ruger brought her to the Prairie from the Inlet, she curled up along his side, her eyes wide with hope and interest in some kind of new beginning. If only he had known then it was all a ruse. Perhaps he wouldn't be here now, further robbed of time with his family on an island over in the chain. Vanya then offers a dramatic farewell, and Jabari's head shoots up high over his withers in surprise. He can see Titania's annoyance by this, and a heat radiates in his gut as he realizes her annoyance is directed at him. He offers the painted mare a warm nicker as she departs, half-heartedly calling her back, but it's too late. Her slender body is pushing back through the leaves and vines to disappear further into the jungle.
He breathes a heavy sigh then, watching her go, still unsure what to make of all she had to say. Whether or not Vanya was being honest, Jabari felt a pang of guilt wash over him. But he had too many problems already. Calypso was also pregnant, with his child. He knew he had to get her out of here as soon as he possibly could. He fretted over Petal's health, and the filly she bore on the shore of the Prairie just days before he was forced into this captivity. He wondered about the safety of his two adult daughters, who with any shred of hope, were still under the guard of his father.
Titania barks back at him, and Jabari blinks his blue eyes in rapid succession, redirecting his attention to her. He shifts his weight uneasily over all fours, and casts his gaze to the right and to the left, into the endless jungle surrounding them. "Perhaps this was a mistake." He said, looking more sternly at her now. Clearly it was Vanya who had captured Titania interest and not him. He logged this bit away to mull over later. Whatever he had hoped to share with her before, he no longer felt comfortable now. He begins to back away, first with just a few slow steps, before pivoting on his haunches to about face. He craned his head to look back at the spotted mare before trotting off into the foliage. "Be careful who you trust around here."
Stallion | Brienne x Shamwari | Chesnut Overo | 15.2 h| Photo © Carina Mailwald | © Vinyl |
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