don't let the daylight rob your dreams

She's not expecting the black stallion to be the one to approach her. So far he's kept his distance, apparently content to linger and let bygones be bygones. Of course, she's not been oblivious to the dark king's watchful eyes, his presence an ever-lingering shadow at the corners of her vision. He's smart to watch her, she thinks. She hasn't made a run for it yet but if she was him she wouldn't trust her either.

He materializes at the corner of her vision, a ghost without a name, and it reminds her all too much of their first encounter. Svenja barely suppresses the chill that runs down her spine, her skin twitching as she digs her hooves into the pliant sand. She won't let him run her off or intimidate her, not this time. But still she murmurs an apology and steps aside for him, waiting to see if he'll pass by wordlessly. He doesn't, though, unmoving at the edge of her sight. Svenja sighs heavily and her ears flip back, dark tail whipping impatiently against her hindquarters.

"Come to make sure I don't run off?" She asks dryly, but doesn't meet his gaze. A grimace contorts her features as the foal inside her kicks again, turning restlessly in the confines of her body. Will he notice? she wonders, casting her gaze out toward the horizon where sea meets sky. Surely he must feel some amount of pleasure from seeing the swell of her belly, no matter how crude the circumstances had been that had led to it. Would he leave the child alone as he had left her alone, keeping a watchful eye from a distance? Or was this his attempt at inserting himself more fully into her life - into their child's life?

A heavy sigh escapes her lips, and Svenja lets the silence settle between them for several long and heavy moments. Will he finally say something? She hopes desperately that he will break this tense silence between them, but nothing ever comes and the pregnant pause grows more and more uncomfortable for her. Eventually she shakes her head and resigns herself to being the one to break it.

"Can you-" she starts after a minute, but cuts herself short, the question dying on her lips. But it is revived a moment later with a breath of courage forced from her lungs. She turns to look at him fully, dark eyes meeting, and asks, "Can you even talk? Or is this some weird vow of silence you've taken?"