In a way, he felt that Melisma would understand better than anyone why Love was such a big thing for him. She was so guarded when he first met her that he was sure someone had either hurt her heart or made her feel less than. She was slow to trust and even more so to be vulnverable. To know that he had gained both was a whole new high for the Gypsy stallion and he couldn't feel more lucky than he did in that moment. Just as he used to draw strength from Vihaan, the stallion knew he'd come to lean on Melisma for that same strength since her shell first started to part during his show of weakness in the Desert. She had stepped forward when he could not and he knew in those moments that she was coming into herself just as he always knew she would. She was starting to see the mare he'd seen on that first night when they met on the Crossing.
She said it was enough just to know someone cared and he let out a breath before speaking. "And yet you deserve so much more in life. I hope that you'll find everything and more with me. I want to be enough for you, Melisma. That is my goal in life and I'll work every day to achieve that." He made the promise to her with determination in his eyes. It meant more than he could ever voice that she was willing to take whatever he was offering for the moment and not be expectant of anything more. She was truly special. As she moved closer to him, he relaxed against her, taking the moment to admire their daugher once again. He knew he couldn't stay here with her forever, but he would stay as long as he possibly could, if only to satisfy his own mind that she and Phoebe were safe and healthy. He had to make sure of that before he could return to the Desert. And he would never stop making sure of it until their return to Salem.
The thoroughbred mare pressed her head to his chest and Cain tilted his head down to bury his muzzle in her mane, breathing in her sweet scent as he closed his eyes, savoring every breath. His eyes only re-opened when he heard the filly moving, watching her settle on the ground at their hooves with a soft sigh of contentment. At Melisma's next words, he felt a bite of shame as it hit him that perhaps she wasn't the first and he didn't want to dismiss Berit's feelings either. Maybe she wasn't as blunt about it, but he knew the sooty mare had meant it just as much in her own graceful wording when they were together. "Perhaps not the first, but just as special to me. You don't wear your feelings so openly as others and that makes the words even more precious." He thought of the only mare he'd ever admitted his own love to and how she failed to give him the same back, thus hardening his resolve that the words were heavy and should be handled with great caution.
He swore he could see the emotions in Vihaan's eyes that day he came to the Prairie, and yet when he said those three words on a soft breath, she had hesitated before telling him she never asked for his heart. She never meant it to hurt him, he was sure, and yet it had just as assuredly. She may not have meant it as such, but it came across as her wanting the power of a title at his side more than she wanted what his heart could give her. It made the feeling of love that much more confusing for him. She, of course, came back to say she was grateful for his heart, but the first words had been said, all the same. She wanted him to want her for what she could do at his side, not because of his feelings. He'd never been so confused. It made her seem more like a weapon to him, an object. Something the old Cain would have been okay with, but not the new Cain she and Everglow had brought to life.
Maybe it was best that they'd gone their separate ways now, but he would never forget what happened between them. It only made him more wary of his feelings for the future, though. He would be more careful, but the mares under his protection were proving to be deserving of everything he could give and more. Melisma was definitely one of those, so special, so important. He would give anything for her and their family. Her and Berit were two sides of an amazing coin, both bringing such feelings out in him that he couldn't find words for all of it. He knew that he needed them both, yet hoped he would never have to choose between them.
Cain_stallion_8yo_Gypsy Vanner Mutt_16.3hh_black and white tobiano coat_white mane & tail_dark brown eyes_bound to none_Salem Desert
Father to: Akello(x Vihaan), Legolas(x Geneva), Paisley(x Primrose), Carbon(x Geneva), Zena(x Zubeia), Twinge(x Harlequin), Vulcan-adopted (x Berit), Enoch(x Berit), Ahimsa(x Vihaan), Sinai (x Berit), RouLette, (x Harlequin), and Phoebe (x Melisma)
photo by Mark Barrett @ YouTube ("Latcho's Tamborine")
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