Braemar had thought he would be exempt from it this year. Yet, as they always do, the heady scents of the rut have stirred something dark and restless within him, and he can no longer think clearly, with goddesses and temptresses around every corner. He has already given into temptation once this season, with a slim, leggy black mare, and his only solace is knowing that at least, this time, it had been consensual… he thinks. He cannot quite remember.
Still, he is hungry for more. His reunion with Fletch has been a nice distraction, but not even his brash old friend can scratch that itch for him. Braemar’s not quite that desperate.
Braemar is roaming the meadow like a shark on the prowl, dark eyes darting from stranger to stranger as he weighs up his options and snatches the occasional mouthful of yellowing autumn grass. Most horses are already paired up, chatting in quiet conversations, but then he spies one lone mare lying in the grass a short distance away, her black and white hide stark against the meadow backdrop.
Flaring his nostrils in an attempt to catch her scent, Braemar watches her for a moment. Last breeding season he would have simply strutted right up to her, hollering uncouth pick-up lines for the whole meadow to hear. But he forces himself to remember those other terrible things he had done last year, and sets his jaw in determination. He must be better. Even just a little bit.
He approaches at a stroll, his manner relaxed and casual, and offers the mare a hearty nicker in greeting. As he comes closer, however, he experiences an intense sense of deja vu, as if he has lived this moment before. The mare is so intensely familiar, yet he cannot place her. His pace falters, then halts. He stands staring at her for a moment, his brow creased with confusion, aware that she’s likely already noticed him and is staring right back at him with confusion of her own.
Fuck. He knows her. And he remembers exactly how he knows her.
Panic rising in his chest, Braemar turns to make a hasty exit.
5; highland pony; dapple gray; 14.0hh |
