Mercedes realized she had been stupid.

With a sigh, she walked toward the stallion on the rocks, dropping her subconscious paranoia. In the back of her head was the knowledge that this stallion was good and meant her no harm, and that she liked him. However, her instincts, inflamed by her life in no more than her own company, had convinced her to close her eyes to that knowledge and mistrust him anyway. She had been an ass to him, and now that she was finally abandoning her overdone security system, she felt a surprising amount of guilt.

Ignoring his words, the mare approached him and nudged his neck, pushing him gently in the direction of the trees. ”Come on,” she said, ”You’re wet and it’s cold.” Though she knew he owned this territory and Mercy herself, the mare pretended to still be in charge so that she could lead him out of the wind. As a company mare, she wouldn’t have been able to herd him like this, but with her mindset being that of a leader she convinced herself to do it.

In the shelter of the trees, Mercy turned and began to groom the fur on his shoulders, hoping to get some of the water away while she kept an eye on his wounds. They weren’t severe, but she examined them anyway to make sure. The salt would keep them clean but it certainly wasn’t comfortable, and she winced at the pain they must have caused him.

”I’m sorry,” she said quietly. ”If you still want to know, my name is Mercedes.”
....................................
♠ ♠ ♠