Each day, each moment, she had felt a little less strange in her body. Some things still took her by surprise - like the way her rear limbs bore invisible socks that were only betrayed when she became wet with the ocean spray, or the way that she had one less tooth on one side of her mouth... likely, she thought, from some abuse she'd suffered in the past. Sonorae had grown to claim the way her mane grew funny with it's dark streak in the middle, and the way she stood awkwardly tall compared to the rest of the herd.
It was only Rougaru's gentle care that she had grown her confidence enough to even attempt this journey. As happy as she was at the handsome stallion's side and amongst his herd, something was missing. She didn't know who, or what, or even how to explain it, but each night that she stared up at the stars, her heart called out for something.
In truth, she had been terrified to leave. She didn't know what had caused her to wash ashore in such terrible condition scant weeks ago, but there was reasonable concern that it still lingered in wait for her beneath the stormy ocean surface. She had held her breath for strides at a time for the entire journey and it was all that she could do to stumble the last few steps ashore before her limbs gave out in a haze of wobbly relief. Laying there as she was, her forelimbs collapsed, face in the sand and rump in the air, she could do nothing but laugh, and so she did. She laughed until it drove her the rest of the way onto the sand, until her sides hurt and her breath hiccuped out in awkward little urps. She laughed at herself and the absurdity of the world, and at the way she'd feared something that would never happen.
Sonorae dried herself off in the sand, and shook to rid her speckled coat of the clinging grains. Like a youthful filly she danced exhuberantly to the trees and scratched all the places that itched, and rubbed the remainders of evidence from her coat. Refreshed and invigorated, she raced away from the beach that had suddenly grown to represent her freedom. She lunged across the grassland of the lower falls like a girl with her first taste of freedom, and only slowed when the delicious looking water trickled into her psyche. And even then, her joy and confidence were so great that she danced toward the first horse that she could see without a trace amount of hesitance.
"Does it taste as good as it looks?" She asked breathlessly, her sides still heaving slightly with the exertion. Her weeks amongst the plentiful food and warm weather had restored most of her health, although there was still some prominence to her hips and ribs. The cuts that had decorated the side of her face were scabbed over and mostly did not hurt to the touch. By far, however, it was her personality that had been restored by Rougaru's protection, and it glowed in the warmth of the late autumn sun.
Being this close to the boldly patterned stallion was exciting. He made her nervous in a way that was both similar to Rougaru and vastly different. Whereas her time with Rougaru was characterized by a warmth that lodged itself beneath her breastbone and radiated outward, this excitement fluttered in her stomach and made her swallow. Determined to be bold, she extended her muzzle to share breath with the stallion, flicking the still-damp strands of her tail as she stepped forward.
Had she paused to think or to even consider the ramifications of her behavior, she might not have been so eager to make his acquaintance. Later, surely, she was rue her own friendliness and open heart when the remainders of her confidence lay shattered at her hooves. But for now? For now she is simply sharing the company of a rather handsome stranger.
