I would honestly love you now,
But I would lovingly let you down.
Damp, moist dirt clung to the soft pink skin of Jabari's muzzle, and the protruding whiskers all around it. A dull hoof occasionally pawed at the earth, revealing strong roots of grass and shrubs, and some leafy green stems of plant beginnings. He chewed what offerings he could find, moss and clover mostly, other than the roots, with half-interest. Lately the stallion's mind had been preoccupied. For the first time in his life, he was feeling restless, and longed for something more than the confines of the Prairie. He was well-versed in the other islands inhabited by his kind and was starting to feel an itch to explore. Paradiso lived on Tinvuel, he knew. And his grandmother in the Forest, a neighboring terrain that despite its close proximity, he had never stepped foot in before. Vita Nova had lived everywhere, almost. In the Peak on the Crossing Isle, in the Desert on Salem. He had dreamed of what those islands looked like, but there was a part of him that could not fathom what snow-peaked mountains looked like or an ocean of orange sand for as far as the eye could see.
A thick red tail flicked annoyingly over his haunches as he considered this. Life had come to a sharp standstill in the the Prairie. He mulled through the worst of it already, and the tides were beginning to shift, thanks to new members of the herd. But Jabari still felt stifled, like he was breathing in only dead air. Maybe it was time for him to leave the Prairie, for the first time ever in his life, and see what else this world had to offer. A pang of guilt twisted in his gut as he thought about this though. He feared leaving Verdi behind. He also worried about his father.
His train of thought was lost quickly, however,at the sudden physical collision with something else. Jabari had been so entranced by his own thoughts that he never heard the bounding footsteps of the young filly before it was too late. He took several steps back after feeling her make impact with his shoulder, and tossed his head wildly in confusion. His wide brown eyes stared down at the filly then, his nostrils flaring as he emitted an unamused snort. Soon the filly's mother was upon them, and Jabari breathed a short sigh of relief that he didn't have to interact with her.
Sure, Jabari had seen Primrose and Sanibel plenty of times. He knew their names. But he never spoke to them unless he had too, which was usually relaying orders or information form Shamwari, or when he took it upon himself to move the herd along on his own. "You OK?" He finally croaked, looking down at the spindly filly now. He swallowed hard as he looked at her pale-colored body, not all that different from his mother's color. He could see the marks of his father in her, too. Sanibel essentially repeated the same question, but to him, and he nodded once in response. He offered her a short-lived, weak smile. "I'm fine." He said effortlessly. "Don't worry about it." A short silance spanned between them and his ears flicked forward and back. "How are you, Sanibel? Your daughter sure seems strong and healthy."
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