the circumstances have been just right, so far, to let the ever present figure of kunžak drift quietly into the background of her mind. their disagreement, an irritating consensus of dissatisfaction with their current relationship but no plan to change it, coupled with having been separated from him for some odd months while she was captive, has created a perfect storm… truly, deeply, she cared for the kladruby stallion of her homeland. for months, even years now possibly, she had felt a mystical pull toward him and an attraction that she had only barely managed to stifle. but he had left her wanting… had left her wondering… would they end up together merely because they were the only ones left? was that a good enough reason? for Božena it wouldn’t be just for that reason… his admirable qualities were many… but she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life wondering if the handsome dark stallion, her match in so many ways, was only by her side out of a sense of loyalty to their people… currently, with kune out of her head, Božena was grappling with the idea of being so strongly attracted to the pale stallion before her. it went against her heritage, her upbringing, her own deeply established sense of loyalty to her people…. but after facing so much turmoil and sadness in her lifetime she was starting to wonder if perhaps it was time to let some of the old ways go. would her matka be so angry to see her happy with a mate of a different kind? at one time in her life she would have been driven away from her rodina just for considering a match someone not of the blood. but they were dead. and she was not. as kendry draws closer, his body a wall of ivory warmth before her, she finds herself overwhelmingly curious. what would the trace of his lips feel like along her shoulder? what would it feel like to lay her head on the curve of his broad back and just rest it there? she had wondered these things before with kunžak but never with any real hope of achieving them… kendry, however, seemed more than willing to receive her affection and give his in return. as the conversation pauses, both of them having drawn close, her eyes glance upward to his. they are dark, nearly black in the evening, but as soft and gentle as a newborn lamb. they are a sharp contrast to her rigid body, a statue carved of marble with a soldiers grace… those soft dark eyes, find his, endlessly blue, and search for Bohové knows what…she stands with iron stillness, not able to close the gap between them but unwilling to move away. she feels a shiver roll over her body, a result of the warm tension between them, she can only bring herself to glance demurely away. when her eyes find the landscapes on the horizon silhouetted by moonlight, she finally exhales gently, her body softening… a small smile pulls at her lips when he mentions seeing her first… her mood changes quickly at the mention of the lagoon. like a flash of lightening followed by a peal of thunder. Božena stiffens, visibly, her dark hooves pressing into the soft floor of the meadow and her ears lacing back flat into the ebony nest of mane at her poll. it takes nothing to be pulled from that warm summer night, sweet with the promise of companionship, back to the dark, dank, loneliness of her captivity in the lagoon.. she steps back, despite the magnetism of their bodies, and the spell is somewhat broken. she knows kendry hadn’t been there or been part of her captivity but it still feels painful. disappointing. one ear flicks back toward the pale stallion at odds with the rest of her body, and her head tilts slightly as the question, nearly phrased like an accusation, leaves her lips. the lagoon? that is where you make your home? she exhales, lowering her head slightly and shaking it softly. there is no place for her in his world then… perhaps kendry did not know of all the ugly harmful dealings of the bachelor herd lately, but to be even remotely associated with cullen was intolerable to her… the golden painted stallion’s proposition still lingered in her mind… a foal of hers to be used as a bargaining chip. it disgusted her. she sighs, taking another step back, and looks back toward the trail to the peak. she wishes to reach out to him, to say goodbye more meaningfully, but she cannot bring herself to do it. instead, with a mask of sadness, she nods, dipping her bold convex muzzle just slightly. i … i think i must return home, Kendry. it is bittersweet when his name rolls off her lips, remembering how pleased he had been when she said it the first time this evening. it would likely cause a different reaction now. |