Common

my waves meet your shore, ever and evermore;

It’s almost too easy. She’s here for what, ten minutes? Maybe? And already, a stallion approaches. Fearne takes a steadying breath, eyes bright and watching him closely as he approaches. This won’t be so hard. All she has to do is be agreeable, convince him to take her home. And then, before Autumn is over, give him reason to believe that this child is his. He must catch something on her face, though, because the first words out of his mouth are asking if she’s okay.

Fearne blinks and then conjures up the sweetest smile she can, simpering and hopefully not too insincere when she says, “I’m just fine - especially now that you’re here.” What luck that he even looks like her. If the child comes out spotted, then she won’t even have to claim that it just takes after her. For a moment, looking at his handsome, earnest face, Fearne doubts her plan. Can she really go through this? Can she really dupe some poor, unsuspecting stallion into being a father? But as soon as the doubt flickers through her mind she squashes it. Stallions do things like this all the time - lie about affection, lie about intentions. Lie about power and love and everything in between. Why should she be any different?

He’s handsome, which is a plus. Shorter than her, but Fearne isn’t so unused to that these days. She’d sprouted up these past few years, going from a gangly filly to a leggy, slim adult. And this is already going much better than the last time she came through the Commons. No sign of pesky little Lagoon bugs, nipping at her heels and trying to lure her into their home. She realizes she hasn’t introduced herself (a mistake she made with her last meeting here - they’d parted without names ever being exchanged between them). “I’m Fearne,” she says brightly. “I’m sorry if I’m distracted - it’s only, last time I was here I had to fend off some stallion from the Lagoon. I’m a little nervous about it happening again.” She smiles encouragingly at him, extending her muzzle for a polite greeting. “You seem much better than he was,” Fearne confesses, voice amused and tipping low and towards a forced sense of conspiratorial confession. Men are easy in her experience. Why wait for him to offer her a home? Why move at a pace that doesn’t get her what she needs? No - she will flirt, she will secure a future for her and her child and if that takes being a little forward, well, she’s suffered worse fates than having a stranger think she’s pushy. If he isn’t the right one, if he doesn’t respond well, there are always others. If there is one truth in this world, it’s that there are always more stallions lurking just around the corner, as weak for a pretty face as she apparently is.