It had been a few days since he had last seen the sooty colt. Cinnamon knew he couldn’t baby the boy; he wasn’t his father, and while he wanted to help, some journeys were not meant to be shared. At least not fully.
He had helped in his own way, or at least tried. He wasn’t sure what to look for; he had never met Zharko’s brother, and didn’t have a scent to go off of, just a name and description, and the knowledge that Zeru was mostly deaf. Cinnamon mostly just kept his eyes and ears open for the other colt. His main mission was off the Crossing. He wanted to secure a more permanent home for himself, so that he could offer safety to Zharko and Zeru. He had succeeded in the Bay under Liland, and now he traveled back to the Crossing to tell Zharko. He had not seen or heard anything of Zeru during his time off the isle, which was disappointing, but at least he had not failed entirely.
He shook the cold brine out of his coat as he walked up the shore of the Crossing toward the Meadow. The air was warming up here, but the sea was still bitter. Last he checked, the Meadow was melting and grey, but as he wound his way through the trees toward Zharko’s favorite spot he could see some green.
Cinnamon called out as his eyes swept over the Meadow, landing on the muddy yearling. He trotted over, giving a cheeky grin at the bright green chutes of tender new grass Zharko had found. "Nice grazing spot," he said. "Who’d ya have to fight for that?" He gave the dark colt a friendly bump on the top of his head with his nose. "I don’t know if you’re ready to start swimming yet, but I spoke with Liland on Tinuvel. He said I could stay there. I thought it you wanted to search the other islands, we could camp out there. Easier to get around and look."
she marks her fingerprints
in my skin
i breathe her perfume in
and it burns like heroin
now she's in me
and i can't let her go
