as I wandered the forest, the green leaves among, i heard a wild flower singing a song

almost as soon as the breathless whinny left her lips she wished she could pull it back in. a brief desire to flutter back into the tall grass and disappear pulls at her like a tidal wave but the emotion passes as she sees the painted form turn her way and whinny his own acknowledgement. her pale eyes follow him as he redirects his path toward her. like a deer in the headlights she stands, half in and out of the grass, watching him approach. she shivers, wondering where her boldness had come from, and steps forward to greet him.

he has many of the same qualities as shamwari, she notes… similar build and stature, but the boyishness and determination she sees in him feel different. her eyes rest unflinchingly on his face, as she finds her own voice and speaks above the wind. i’m well… just trying not to blow away.. she is half joking, half serious, though even she may not realize that. she is always one gust away from moving on it seems. despite her talk with shamwari about the future, she still can’t seem to shake the idea that maybe she doesn’t fit in here after all. he had always left the door open for her, and his friendship was invaluable. but perhaps him leaving the door open meant he knew she wasn’t really for him all along.

the wind plays with her mane and tail, the bronze wisps contrasting the pale pinkish gold of her body and her eyes move out to the sea for a moment before returning to meet jabari’s grin. she can’t help but let a shy smile slip in return, and she wonders then, what she is doing. you looked like you were enjoying yourself but it seems a shame we have lived together here for a while and still not spoken. her confidence comes and goes in waves, like the roiling ocean beside them, one minute she feels bold, like vita nova and the next, shy and quiet, wondering what has come over her. she can’t imagine what he knows about her, what he has been told…but finds herself curious of what he thinks.

it seems impossible that brienne was carrying him as a foal when their friendship began, that shamwari was the father of a grown stallion. she couldn’t see a foal at all when her blue eyes searched his frame, just the traces of youthful exuberance she sometimes found in herself. as she catches herself staring, she quickly looks back toward the sea, unsure where this train of thought is going, and unsure as to why it seems it might to matter to her if he simply sees her as another of his fathers harem, or as something else.