Rivaini

They’re not gone forever.

Though not the most adept at expressing her own emotions, Rivaini had spent enough time in the company of her pale sibling to have picked up on a measure of his empathy. She was quick to perceive that with her words, Faolain was addressing the absence of their friend as much as - if not more than - the migratory birds. And she also knew the sun of her heart well enough to understand that what her dark companion spoke was true. Çiçek would be back - in fact, the silver bay doubted there was any force on this earth that could keep her away from the Ridge, particularly once her child was grown enough not to require her constant presence.

But would it be the same?

It was this question that troubled Rivaini more than anything else. Because regardless of the hurt she’d suffered… her heart had not been swayed. She still felt great affection for the dunalino beyond the type of bond that might exist between two friends who shared laughter, and memories. Not the same type of comfortable intimacy she felt for Faolain, but a breathless and bold thing; a reckless thing. If Faolain was the copper mare’s rock, then Çiçek was the wild sea below the cliffside. The one she might dive into recklessly, embracing twin thrills of triumph and terror as she fell. Day and night, moon and sun - each woman held their own chamber in her heart, and she would have never been able to choose one over the other.

Had it been that hard for Çiçek? This errant thought drew Rivaini’s musings up short, transforming her features in a way that would be evident to Faolain. When the golden mare had told her, she’d never considered how difficult it could be for her to make the choice that she’d made. A choice that she had undoubtedly made more difficult with her abrupt withdrawal - nevermind that it was the depth of her passions that had caused it. Guilt wriggled in the pit of her stomach, and her blue eyes could no longer meet Faolain’s. She had been a terrible friend to everyone, it seemed, and could not claim to have earned the affection that they offered so freely.

But if there was one thing the black ‘Teke had taught Rivaini, it was resilience. It was never too late to try again, and she knew that - in Faolain’s case, at least - her actions would be forgiven. And somehow, she would find a way to be worthy of that forgiveness, and of the dark mare. “You’re right - we should pay a visit,” the tobiano mare offered with a smile of genuine warmth, and then a light laugh. “Perhaps in the fall. If the little one is anything like its mother, she’s probably being run ragged right about now. And she’ll need her energy for the sort of reunion I have in mind.” Rivaini’s comment could easily be taken lewdly - and she might even consent to go along with such a course, if it happened naturally. But in her thoughts, she envisioned a rematch to the race she’d allegedly lost, and an afternoon spent cleaning the morning’s exertions from their coats.

There was plenty of comfort to be gained in simple closeness, after all. Lowering her head to tuck her chin into the dip of Faolain’s withers, the silver bay was perfectly content - for now, at least - to leave matters of the heart until her own had healed.

mare / five / silver bay tobiano / andalusian mix / 15.3hh