I would honestly love you now,
But I would lovingly let you down.
For the first time since his mother died, Jabari felt untethered - as if he he'd lost any semblance of control over his life. There had been three attacks on the Prairie - one stallion came for Vita Nova. Another came for Sanibel. Both mares were now long gone from the Prairie. And then Cullen came for someone near and dear to him: Petal. The young stallion wore the shame of that day heavily on his heart. Instead of rising up to meet Cullen in battle himself, he galavanted along the shore with the love of his life, blissfully unaware of the fight that ensued just steps away from the shoreline. Shamwari, instead, protected Petal on his behalf. Jabari was indebted to his father for more reasons than one, but this instance rose to the top of the list.
He'd felt foolish for the way he attempted to scold his father and Ruger, when they returned to the Prairie with an Inlet mare in tow. Jabari may not be well-versed in the politics of being a land-owning stallion, but he feared taunting his enemies. Wouldn't that just bring more dread upon their family? Hadn't they faced enough? His feelings about this had changed over time, after the Cullen attack and the more recent one by Rougaru. Did they think his father was weak? Did these strangers think his family was ripe for the picking? The thought made his blood boil.
Maybe it was the elusive Celestria, putting these ideas in his head. When she arrived on Luthien, Jabari wanted nothing to do with Warsaw's little spy. But somehow he'd been the one assigned to look after her. And after some time, she'd begun to break down his defenses. They developed a kinship of sorts - she was only the second mare he'd met, who wasn't already a member of his family, to show him any interest or affection. He liked this - especially at this time, when Petal seemed distant as she dealt with her own feelings after the Cullen attack and the strained relationship she had with Shamwari. Not to mention, she was busy raising their twin daughters. So Celestria became the one Jabari often sought out, for better or worse, when he needed a distraction. She was pretty to look at, that much he knew. But she talked to him in a way that made him feel proud and masculine. He liked the way she made him feel. She instilled some sense of confidence in him.
Celestria had planted a seed that seemingly refused to die. Instead it festered in his thoughts, and those thoughts turned to actions. Jabari was angry and he wanted revenge. He wanted to bring Sanibel back to the Prairie and he wanted to find his aunt and his cousin. It was the first time the painted stallion had ever left the Prairie, truly. He plunged into the sea and swam with all his might, until he rolled up on the black-pebble shore of the Inlet. Adrenaline masked the feelings of dread and fear that initially flooded him, as his signature blue eyes widened as he looked into the depths of a terrain that couldn't be any more different than home. Carbon dioxide rose from his whiskered nostrils, creamy flumes evaporating into the brisk air. The chill only made him feel more awake - more alive -as he stumbled over the rocks and trotted off toward the treeline.
His heart was beating so fast in his chest that it flooded his ears, deafening the sounds of the birds in the trees overhead. He gasped for breath, catching the scent of a fertile female in the immediate distance. It didn't take long for the stallion to spy her- a pretty roan thing grazing by herself, and not far from the shore. Jabari swallowed hard and tried to conjure up the compliments Celestria had paid him - he needed to feel the way she made him feel, if he was going to be able to pull this off. "This is for the Prairie, you ugly brute." He grumbled under his breath about Warsaw. Then he trotted out in the open toward the mare, circling her tightly with snapping jaws. He used his shoulders to try to push her toward the shoreline. Time was of the essence if he was going to do this successfully. He wanted to steal something of Warsaw's to remind the grey stallion that the Prairie wasn't weak. Let him come. Let him see.
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