sable
When the stranger chuckled, she could only assume that she’d somehow said something foolish, and that his laugh was directed at her. Her cheeks burned with shame. You’re so stupid, Sable, she silently chastised herself, and lowered her eyes submissively. She half-expected him to strike out at her with his teeth, but no such thing happened; instead there was only an assault of words on her ears. Slowly, she lifted her eyes again to meekly watch the stallion’s animated face as he spoke, and soon her anxiety gave way to uncertainty.
Bugs? The young mare chanced a glance back into the dark, dappled green depths of the forest, and found that it looked different to her now that she knew there were large insects lurking within. It felt... malevolent, somehow, the bright beauty of its colorful blooms suddenly seeming lurid and toxic. Flicking one ear back, then two, Sable took one step backwards – away from the trees – then two. She looked again at the stranger, at his golden face and pale locks and sun-spotted rump, and reminded herself that he was no threat. Probably.
“Natural territory?” she repeated, tasting the words on her tongue and wondering what they meant. In truth, she had no desire for a long walk on the beach. Her muscles ached from her marathon swim, and she was beginning to feel a little faint from hunger and thirst. Secretly she also wondered if this stallion was taking her the ‘long’ way to spend more time with her, but she was too tired and famished to be making any real judgements of character right now. If it means food and water at the end, I might as well go along with it, she told herself, and aloud, said simply, “Lead the way.”
{15'2 smoky seal brown mutt}
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