I would honestly love you now,
But I would lovingly let you down.
Weeks had passed since Celestria dragged him here, and Jabari managed to linger deep within the jungle mostly by himself. His coat was marred with a few recent pink blemishes from his run-in with Rougaru. But otherwise, the painted son of Shamwari looked better than he had in many months. The warm spring and summer seasons on Atlantis had done him some good. His mind, however, still reeled over his unfortunate position. He'd gone from being a servant of Cullen's to one of Rougaru's by proxy of Celestria. Jabari didn't know what to expect. He knew the war was building. Soon, the fight would finally break out. And Celestria made it quite clear the role she'd intended him to play in all of this. Rougaru, too, seemed intent on enforcing it.
Jabari spent his time in Paradise intent on getting stronger. He ate everything the plentiful territory offered him. He made sure to keep moving, walking for hours through the dense jungle, and even enjoying short sprints along the beach - a pastime he once revered when he was on regular patrols back in the Prairie. His aching body thanked him. It didn't take long for those sunken hips to begin to fill with new muscle and girth, and the topline muscle he'd lost, to build again.
But he couldn't mend his broken heart and spirit with diet and exercise. He ached for home more than ever now. His life with Petal, Daphne and Dailhia felt like a far away dream. He had no idea if they'd moved on by now. He couldn't blame them if they did.
Every so often, on his long walks underneath the canopy of the tropical forest, he'd catch a semi-familiar scent in the humid air. Calypso - the pretty pale mare he'd met in a darker time on the Crossing Isle - would pop to the forefront of his mind. He hadn't forgotten the details she'd shared with him during that vulnerable time. Calypso had somehow met his father, whose words had shaken her. But if her scent was here, that meant she'd chosen Rougaru after all. His heart sank at the thought. But only briefly. He hoped to see her - at least one familiar and somewhat friendly face- in this place. Maybe one day he would once Rougaru had left to aid Warsaw and Cullen. The silver bay brute was fairly diligent at keeping him away from his herd.
Stallion | Brienne x Shamwari | Chesnut Overo | 15.2 h| Photo © Carina Mailwald | © Vinyl |
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