Common

Honeycutt was never very far from Osmanthus, but she noticed over time that he began attempting to slip away from her when she was otherwise distracted. She wished she could express to him the way she still saw him, and always would, but though he stood physically near her, she began to feel as if he was behind a waterfall. His image warped and distorted for her, and she feared any shout she gave to get his attention would be muffled by the tumbling waters.

So, she let him go in a sense, let him wander… but she was only ever a few hours behind him. Eventually she began to daydream that he would catch on to the fact that she’d never stopped trailing him, even after Tiare grew older and tired of the games and went her own way, leaving Honeycutt to follow him alone. Maybe he would circle about and she’d come upon him, and he’d smile that handsome smile that used to light up his face and give her butterflies, and everything would be okay.

It was such a lovely scene to play out as she walked along, trailing the steps his large hooves had pressed among the soft autumn ground. She stopped short as she came across him, having mistimed how fast she was following him and not realizing he’d stopped. He was standing with a stallion she didn’t know, her big eyes looked almost nervously at him and she naturally drifted toward Osmanthus’ hip. She tucked her short, chunky figure near him, automatically assuming he would protect her as he had always done.

She was almost too afraid to speak up, and her voice trembled a little as she did, but her worry for Osmanthus was too great. “I… thought I heard the Lagoon has been doing bad things lately… to the um, herds on the islands.” Her brief moment of bravery floundered immediately and she panicked as she rushed out, “Or maybe those are just lies meant to be fun gossip in the Falls.”