There is no better way to know us
than as two wolves, come separately to a wood
He was certainly one of a kind. Sinopa had been watching, waiting for the moment his resolve would come tumbling down, urging him to back up, out of fear, driven by instincts and self-preservation. Tolinka looked for something else, though, as she defiantly stared at him, unwilling to back down, be put in the place so many males had tried to put her. Tolinka was tall and fierce, and she would not be ‘put in her place’, not by anyone. It was like none of them had a brain in their smug little heads. Did they not understand that these ‘places’ they tried to put her were too small? Tolinka was vast, she was mighty, she bent to the will of no one. And she wondered if finally, here was a stallion that could see this.
The faded black and white mare was guarded, watching as well for any indications of aggression. She was not against using teeth and claws (or hooves), but the thought of using violence out of fear was the mark of a coward. So many times she had been lashed out at by a stallion, just because she wouldn’t bow her head, or bitten by a mare because she was insolent to ones who had nothing to earn her respect. She was never anything less than herself, and she had learned long ago that there were those who would never understand this. Too afraid to admit that she was a threat, they attacked. Tolinka was forced to defend herself, just because she burned with a brighter light than most. And defend she did. A soft snort, and she flicked her gaze towards her sister. This one had impressed them both. Brave and controlled, perhaps.
At the sound of his laughter, at his words, a small trickle of laughter bubbled up from Sinopa’s chest. If nothing else, he certainly knew how to speak the hidden language in which the crafty bay girl had been fluent since birth. “Oh, don’t you worry about me, mister,” she said, voice low just as his had been, deep and husky. “I can look after myself just fine.” A little closer, and her breath warmed the pale gold skin of his neck. “And, let me share a secret with you; with me, things are never finished until I say so.”
“Hm.”
Sinopa turned her eyes to her sister as Tolinka made a small sound at the stallion’s introduction. Twitching an ear, the bay mare turned dark eyes back to Psych. “Of course you are,” she murmured, thinking that the name fit him, strangely and perfectly. Tolinka obviously felt the same. “Psychedelic,” his named rolled off Sinopa's tongue, and she nodded. Shifting slightly, she leaned forwards, about to say something, but then she went still, and the both of them watched the stallion containing them with his movement. Ears pricked, eyes never leaving him, glittering all the while. A deep fascination, an unbreakable concentration, because they were the hunters even though it was he that circled.
As he came to settle on Sinopa’s other side, she reached out to tug at a tangled strand of white-gold mane, as if say ‘I wasn’t finished!’ But his words softened her, and she smiled demurely at him, lowering her head, eyes downcast, as if she were suddenly shy. And Tolinka moved in again, darting forwards and turning neatly, so that her two-tone coat brushed against his. “You know me so well, Psychedelic, and we only just met!” Sinopa was back to her old self, head raised, eyes flashing as she closed in on him, nudging his cheek firmly. “We’ve got you right where we want you,” she purred, eager to see what he would do about it. “Now you have to answer three questions.” Why three? Well, Sinopa had always been fond of the number. And besides, he seemed in no hurry to leave. Three was just enough. Tolinka shoved him playfully with her shoulder. Yes, Sinopa was confident. Here was someone worthy of their time, someone who seemed to understand them. Definitely a keeper.
One.
And two…
He made three.
SINOPA + TOLINKA
the fox && the hound
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