I would honestly love you now,
But I would lovingly let you down.
He awoke from deep within the Ridge's thorny jungle, his painted mass tucked neatly against the moist Earth floor. It was the birds overhead that stirred him, their calls shrill and sharp at this dewey hour. His blue eyes blinked quickly, in rapid succession, as he moved to rid the haze of sleep. But he lingered on the ground, outstretching all four white limbs, before rolling out flat on his side and breathing deeply.
Jabari arrived on the shores of Atlantis feeling unsure and apprehensive. But his rapport with Hades grew from the moment they met on the damp, rocky beach, and somehow, weeks had passed and the Luthien-born stud was still here. Jabari was beginning to feel at ease here, in the company of Hades' family. The Ridge, though it bordered Rougaru's dreaded jungle, couldn't be more apart in terrain and culture. Jabari found himself seeking out the red stallion to offer up ways to help him. He wanted to be useful. He might not realize it yet, but indeed, the painted stallion just may have started to put his own roots down in the Ridge, too.
With a low and gurgling grunt, the stallion finally rose onto all fours. He gave his two-toned coat a good shake before striding out of his small wooded enclave and out into the sloped, rocky forest of the Ridge. He made his way down the semi-familiar path to a cold and bumbling stream for a drink, before instinctively, he set off on 'patrol', or what mimicked his old routine back in the Prairie, and began retracing his footsteps across the Ridge's wide borders.
When he arrived at the beach, the stallion was happy to breathe in the tangy sea air. His pink nostrils flared as he took in the wide, foggy and quiet expanse. Back home, Jabari made a bit of a habit out of getting a good gallop in on the damp sands. He hadn't indulged in a good romp in some time. And even now, as the idea crossed his mind, he hesitated. For so long, the son of Shamwari didn't believe he deserved any kindness. He had made too many mistakes - hurt too many he had vowed to love and protect - to deserve joy. But slowly, those feelings of guilt were finally beginning to give away.
He breathed in again, long and deep. And with just a simper of a smile crossing his whiskered lips, he loaded his weight onto his haunches and rocketed off, his fore limbs outstretching like the crashing waves beside him as his hooves beat at the soft sand. His stride opened up with each passing beat against the beach, and his back flattened in response. He closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling, as his matted mane lapped against his thick neck. He slowed only once he felt the sand give way to pebbles, and the boulders that littered the beach grew in size and frequency. He snorted loudly as he broke to a trot, but gleefully offered up a good buck before settling into a brisk walk. It felt good to let go again.
It was only in his recovery - with the sides of his barrel heaving as his lungs craved for air - did he catch a glimpse of her. The blue roan mare was gone in a split second, her spindly legs reaching for the more elevated terrain as she moved farther away from the beach. From this distance, Jabari couldn't discern her scent, but he picked up enough nodes within it to know she wasn't from here. Curious, and with adrenaline still coursing in his veins, he trotted off after her, disappearing into the brush while hot on her trail.
"Hey." He finally spoke, his voice hoarse and deep from zero use at this early hour. A chestnut ear flicked forward and then the other as he peered at her between the trees and boulders. "Careful there. Newcomers often underestimate the incline."
Stallion | Brienne x Shamwari | Chesnut Overo | 15.2 h| Photo © Carina Mailwald | © Vinyl |
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