There was the sensation of touch that worked its way all over Khoshekh’s little body, helping him understand himself and the space he occupied. He vision began to clear, and he sneezed a few times, an action that startled him, but which made breathing quite a bit more comfortable. The sensation of touch, he came to understand as his body began to dry and warm, was his mother, cleaning him up.

His vision had cleared, but the colt still did not entirely understand what he was seeing. As Kohelet continued to clean him, drying him off and fluffing up his short mane and downy baby fur, Khoshekh became more and more aware of his surroundings. He could not see the second adult body further away in the clearing; his attention was wholly trained on his mother. His big blue eyes gazed up at her in wonder, that slowly turned to some very early semblance of adoration. He was not yet old enough to comprehend love, let alone attach words to such a feeling, but he understood for now that his mother was his world.

You’re perfect, she said as he gazed up at her, and Khoshekh gave a little bleat in response. He was becoming aware of another sensation: hunger. It ignited the instinct to stand, even though he had no idea how his legs worked just yet. Khoshekh rocked a few times on his folded, lanky limbs, before getting his knees beneath him and using them to steady himself for a moment. Little sides fluttering with every tiny, quick breath, Kho managed to plant his back hooves in the dirt. His tiny hindquarters raised, fell, and raised again. His front hooves were even trickier, as he had placed his hind feet too close together, and he wobbled badly as he tried to unfold his front legs.

The little black colt got one more hoof on the ground before toppling bodily over. If either of his parents moved in response to his stumble, Khoshekh did not notice, because he was busy trying again.

This time, he made it all the way up. He stood with his legs comically splayed, overcompensating for his wobbly mistake on his first attempt. He looked up at his mother, and gave a single, demanding cry: feed me.