†
The silver buckskin's reply sounds gracious, but his lips stretch over his teeth and there is no mistaking the outrage building under his skin. Temblor understands such pride, might have shrugged it off as just a boy's vanity, but when he rejects the fleabitten gray mare who stands so subdued beyond him, the Percheron's initial esteem of Annubis drops at a sharp decline. It had been implicated by both of these strangers that they were, if not of the same herd, at least familiar enough with one another to care for each other's wellbeing. And now the silver buckskin does not just dismiss, but rejects the mare altogether before storming off. As he shoulders past Temblor, the dappled gray braces himself against the jostle with ears slicked tight to his poll and snakes his head out, intending to deliver a hard bite of rebuke on Annubis's withers or flanks as he passes, refusing to give an inch.
His ears remain pinned as he watches the undergrowth close behind the silver buckskin's passage. It is evident to him now that Annubis's apparently protective stance in front of the mare had been a possessive action, not a gesture done out of genuine concern for her safety in the presence of an unknown stallion. "Abysmal," he mutters with an abrupt snort. Not behavior he would ever tolerate out of one of his sons— although, Annubis is a man grown. At some point it is no longer the parent's responsibility to correct what some might see as bad behavior.
Temblor lifts his ears and turns his head, slowly, to regard Sonorae. He half expects her to have fled while his attention was fixed on the other male's retreat, but no, she stands there still. Her expression is a mixture of confusion and hurt, and it makes his heart ache to see tears wet her face. His gaze is sympathetic as she turns to him in surprise: the knife of betrayal is still sheathed within his own chest. There is no handle to remove such a weapon, only more length of cold metal— a sharp, unyielding blade on which to cut oneself with each attempt to remove it. Temblor's hands are stained with blood. He would not see her likewise disfigured, but as he has not had luck in dislodging such agony from his own heart he has no idea what might ease her suffering.
When she chooses to approach him, it surprises Temblor. It is her eyes, he decides as he reaches forth carefully to meet her extended muzzle. She looks at him like she expects violence, like she is prepared to leap like a doe and take herself far away from him, and it reminds Temblor of all he'd rather forget. But how can he, with such a gaze upon him? His eyes flutter close as she exhales, but before he can do more than breathe in, she has withdrawn once more into her own space. Perhaps it is better that way, he thinks, opening his eyes and glancing at her. Obviously neither one of them is comfortable around the other— she speaks so quickly, and so quietly, he has to lean a little closer to be sure he's heard her.
"Sonorae," he repeats her name evenly as he settles back, attempting to establish a more relaxed atmosphere between them. And yet, how can he? She has just been abandoned in the company of a total stranger, and while it seems indelicate to ask it seems equally rude to pretend like she wasn't just left behind by the single familiar face standing on this trail. Thus, Temblor asks: "Is he... always like that?"
He tries for a note of levity, a small smile turning up one corner of his mouth, but the expression is fleeting and feels awkward, and he regrets his approach almost immediately. He glances down the trail, in the direction that will lead back the way he has come, away from this stifling jungle and out to the open, breezy air of the beach. "Forgive me," he says, unsure of whether he means for his attempt at humor just now or for his actions over a year ago which she can't possibly know anything about. It's those eyes, he reminds himself, and can't help but cast another glance at her. "I find the sound of surf soothing. Do you... would you like to walk on the beach?" He will not hurry her, nor force her. It is no longer a conditional demand, but Sonorae's choice.
TEMBLOR
& swallows you whole
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