drag my teeth across your chest
to taste your beating heart

Her mismatched eyes were narrowed in focus as she climbed the mountain, watching her step carefully on the unfamiliar ground. She did not lift them until the sound of loose stones shifting alerted her to the approach of another, just before the stranger called to her. When she lifted her head, she saw a pale mare standing in front of her, just a little further up the incline.

The stranger spoke as if she knew the place, and yet there was something slightly uncertain about her speech. Fishbone looked her in the eye, unflinching, as if she had not just pulled herself from the ocean and wandered into unfamiliar territory. The Peak. She noted the name in her memory, uninspired as it was.

“Yes,” she replied simply, clearly anticipating that one word to be sufficient.

Unfazed, she picked her feet up and began to walk stiffly forwards, continuing towards the peak of the mountain. It did not occur to Fishbone that, in this new place, it might be frowned upon to wander freely through foreign lands. She knew only that she wanted to see where she was and that the peak of a mountain was a good place to do that.

“I need to get to the top,” she said as she moved to pass the other mare, by way of explanation.

Although her words said little, she gave the stranger a questioning glance that suggested she was welcome to accompany her.

“Who are you?” she asked as she moved, vaguely curious to see if the woman would accompany her.

FISHBONE
FISHBONE