Daedra smiled to herself as she ran about the momentary confusion on her companion’s face before she had spun around. One moment he seemed so gullible, the next sharp as a knife – it was interesting. While the stallion might fantasise about making her his, Daedra thought he was pretty close to being hers already. She set a quick pace, her almost disproportionately long legs propelling her light body with ease, but she did not press herself. The stallion, whilst not a huge man, was stockier than herself – built a little more for strength than speed, unlike Daedra. She was born to run. The wind pulling at her hair and whistling in her ears cleared her mind, and she felt free and easy. Nevertheless, she did not really want to lose the red stallion. She let him fall only just far enough behind her so that he could see she was capable of outrunning him if she wanted to. As the heaving, grey-green shoulders of the dark sea came into view, Daedra heard the stallion put on a burst of speed behind her. His hooves thundered against the ground, the only sound she could hear past the rushing in her ears, evidently spurred on by something. She felt his lips against her skin, but no teeth. She flicked her rear hooves at him with a small buck and a squeal – a playful warning – but allowed him to guide her anyway, angling her course in the direction he had tried to turn her. Daedra was intrigued by this stranger, and wanted to see where he took her. She had almost completely forgotten about the other red man from her travels. *** By the time they reached the other island it was almost full dark – the faintest tinge of pink still staining the velvety sky as the moon began to rise. Daedra’s charcoal pelt was wet again from their swim, glistening in the darkness. This new island appeared very similar to the first, but the night felt cooler against her damp skin as the light continued to fade. She had allowed the stallion to continue to direct their little chase – following his small corrections with only false, half-hearted refusals – but she slowed as they began to enter dense trees. In the darkness and cramped spaces caused by the tall, thick trees that began to spring up on either side it would be all too easy to stumble over uneven ground or some unseen obstacle. She could hear the stallion slow down even further behind her and, guessing that meant they were close to where he wanted to take her, she willingly followed suit until they were navigating the trees at a gentle walk. They emerged into a clearing, where a little light filtered down through a large gap in the canopy above. Daedra stopped and turned back to face her companion. She was panting slightly, her thin, dark sides rising up and down, so she said nothing. Instead, she watched the stallion intently, with hard, unblinking eyes, waiting to see his next move while she caught her breath. |