Common

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What exactly is the protocol when it's the child offering to take the strange man to a secondary location? Is it better? Worse, somehow? Is there an equine J.J. Bittenbinder out there eager to impart his wisdom on this particular subject? Pippin wasn't particularly concerned that Frey meant him harm, though he might have had the wherewithal to sympathize if the colt had expressed misgivings toward him. In this moment, he was mainly worried that he had irrevocably screwed up his standing amongst his friends on this, the first day he had bothered taking any initiative whatsoever. But, at the same time, he really didn't want to swim more so -.

Hold up.

Swim more?

"I'm Pippin. It's nice to meet you, Frey," the roan stallion replied somewhat tremulously, "and I appreciate the offer, but...aren't we on the mainland?"

He'd seen signs of islands on the horizon plenty of times in his life, whenever the skies were clearest and the seas calm, but nobody he knew had ever been there. Wading out past the shallows was something you only did on a dare. Surely the kid had just misspoken about the swimming thing.

That wet knot of worms in his stomach tightened. The salt caked to his feathered limbs felt suddenly like heavy chains wrapped around his ankles. His chest felt entirely hollow. But, despite the panic creeping in and the wary flick of his ears, Pippin tried as hard as he could to keep it conversational, to not completely fall apart on this nice kid who just wanted to make sure he made it through the night.