The girl’s sudden exuberance is unexpected but delightful, and it draws a wide, warm smile from Rhadra. “You should eat more often,” she teases gently once the girl has exhausted her list of games. She looks so happy, so content standing there, a complete turn-around from the startled, hesitant mare who’d shouted ’You’re not supposed to see me!’ not so very long ago.
“I’ll have to try your how-many-bugs games. I like the leaf crunching one, too. Have you ever tried Snow Shoes? It’s most fun when it’s snowed only a little; I like to try and leave only one line of prints behind me, stepping like so,” she demonstrates by walking in a wide circle that brings her back to where she was initially standing, looking down to watch the placement of her hooves as she tries to place her hind feet exactly on the ground her front feet have just left. “Although when it’s deeper I have a lot of fun trying to hop as far as I can, just to see how long my jump is,” Rhadra laughs.
She turns her head toward the creek and gestures at the gently running water with her white-snipped muzzle. “Will you teach me your fish game?” she asks. “Maybe we can find a way to do it without getting water up our noses.” She’s teasing again, still gently, and with a genuinely warm smile. She likes the girl’s company, even if it did begin a little jarringly and she’s still deeply curious about the pale mare’s circumstances. This evening is turning out to be very enjoyable indeed. |