Kune could not say how long he was there in the downpour of the waterfall. With all his senses flooded in every possible way, time seemed to stretch and twist into something meaningless. He stood there for as long as he could physically stand it, his brain blissfully adrift in the white noise of the water crashing all around him, until his body was slowly seized by uncontrollable tremors and every one of his extremities became numb. It was then that Kune reluctantly exited the falls, poking out first his snout and blowing water from his nostrils, his now sleek and shining body following behind.
He had only taken a few steps through the water when he froze. Two mares - similar in appearance but differing slightly in color and build - stood in the water right in front of him, looking at him with open curiosity. Evidently his shower had attracted an audience. Kune’s dark eyes flitted between them, his face a guarded mask, and then, twisting his ears back with discomfort, he changed course to move past them.
“Promiňte,” he murmured in his soft bass as he walked past them, his brain defaulting to his mother tongue in his moment of embarrassment. He only realized his mistake once he’d taken a couple steps, and he hesitated in place, his brain scrambling to remember the translation, if he knew it at all. But trying to remember made him think of Bozena again, and all the times she had helped him learn a little of the island tongue, so that he could at least communicate on a very basic level when she was not around. The memory was like a kick to the gut.
With his mind spiralling back into the abyss he had just managed to climb out of, Kune was unaware he was frozen in place or still next to the two mares, with cold water lapping at his legs and waves of shivers seizing his dripping body.
|
