R H A E L L A


He moves like the rat does before the snake.

Had Rhaella been in a more jovial mood, she might have chuckled at his hesitance. As such, given that her nature could not get much more unpleasant than it currently was, little more than a hard smirk tugged at her expression, with something like impatience flashing in her green eyes. Otherwise, she kept perfectly still, aware that any sudden movement on her part was likely to elicit supreme surprise and fear from the stallion.

I will not harm you, even if you are a fiend, she thought silently, almost hoping he would be able to understand her poor attempt at telepathy.

Thankfully, he got it right: a gentle nudge, right on the tip of her muzzle, as any other of her people would have done. Truly, a touch anywhere would have sufficed, though she might not have been so quite reassured.

She could still feel the heat, tingling across her nose, even after he had pulled away. For a few moments Rhaella merely blinked as though in surprise (though perhaps she had not truly expected anything supernatural to happen), before abruptly stepping backwards and dipping her head down into her chest in what could only have been interpreted as a bow.

”Aruna keep you,” she said softly, all the harshness in her voice from before having dissipated like a fine rain, and gazed up at him from behind her pale forelock. In the pale light of dawn, she saw him more clearly: and not because the sun's rays were becoming more prominent across the tropical landscape.

Standing straight once more, Rhaella gazed at the stallion contemplatively, though there was no trace of shame in her expression. In her culture, embarrassment was but a waste of time: a distraction from progress. “I thank you. May we start over?”

Just as the words had left her pale lips, however, there was an abrupt sloshing noise from behind them. Ears pricking forward with alarm, Rhaella swivelled on her white-splashed legs to watch as a mare as boldly marked as the stallion who stood beside her emerged from the ocean and made her way towards up the sandy bank towards the forest. She was some thirty or forty paces away, down at the opposite end of the beach, and thus far, seemed not to have noticed them.

Turning back to the stallion, Rhaella shot him a curious look. “You know her?”

[chaos will join in after me. ;)]



mare : 3 : sooty flaxen chestnut sabino (ref) : saddlebred mix : 15hh
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