Falls

As of late the man had been left well enough alone, given a wide berth by his imposing appearance no doubt and while his countenance was more a façade than anything it was effective. It was perhaps his lack of expectation in regards to company that delayed his recognition of anyone approaching his general area. He was a veritable wall of a man, easy to see even in the most difficult of situations and it was surprising to him that someone could simply stumble upon him. The fact that he was rather caught up in his surroundings and thoughts that was not until a soft voice stuttered a stilted apology that his heavy head jerked around. It took him but a moment to take the measure of the mare that stood nearly shaking before him.

His emerald eyes narrowed, the first instinct that arose in his chest was to scare her off. It wouldn’t be hard, he could see that in an instant she had been through enough that he was fairly confident that a harsh snort would send her skittering from under the cover of the icy branches above. Yet despite the jaded impression he put forth into he world, the giant’s heart was exactly the size most would assume it to be. He sighed, softly so as to avoid frightening her off when he hadn’t intended it before turning his head to look at her properly. His assessment had been right, she looked frightened enough to high tail it to the other side of the crossing if he set a hoof out of line. The worst part was his inclination to help her, to try to solve whatever problem weighed so heavily upon her.

That urge leapt up into his chest with near painful insistence, but the severe memory of his failure to do just that so many times before grounded him, a reminder of just what he was not capable of. Instead he lowered his voice to the most non-threatening caliber he could muster, which to be fair was not much and still felt too loud amidst the quiet surroundings of their trouble. “No trouble, ma’am.” He made a pass at a smile that he wasn’t sure was actually reassuring and let his face fall back into solemnity. “Any shelter in the storm, sorry the company isn’t more enjoyable.” He didn’t actually intend to offer her to stay with him, if that is how she interpreted it. He wasn’t in the shape or position to try and take care of anyone, now more than ever.