despite his caution and carefulness, petal can’t help but flinch at the sound of his voice. she doesn’t have the energy to flee, under-nourished and heavily pregnant as she is, but her small body stiffens defensively, muscles coiling with miserable tension. her soft blue eyes widen in alarm as they are drawn from the dark waves of the sea toward the sound. normally she would never have dared to be out in the open so long, but her desperation was making her careless. he is frighteningly tall, the size of him larger perhaps than anyone she had ever encountered up close before and the petite mare shrinks away instinctively despite the kindness that she sees shining in his eyes. his voice is tender, timid almost, but she has a hard time focusing. this was the first interaction she had with anyone in weeks..months even.. and for some reason she was near the brink of tears. if it were jabari or even shamwari who had found her, petal may have collapsed at their feet sobbing.. but this stranger? how could she trust him to care for the gaping wound she felt on her soul? she risks a frantic glance toward the sea once more, wondering if she should risk plunging into the waves toward luthien to avoid him but reason intrudes on the thought. she had daphne and dahlia to think of… and the foal who grew in her womb… she could not make the journey in this state unchaperoned. a tear escapes, rolling down her ivory-pink-gold cheek as she turns her gaze back toward him, upward. she is not ready to voice the things that had befallen her… and so she can only shake her tiny head, no. petal shivers, as she often does when she is shaken, and lowers her dainty muzzle dejectedly. her eyes fix on him with wariness, though she guesses it is quite obvious that she was incapable of defending herself if he had ill intensions. if she were less upset, less panicked, she would notice the worry in his expression, the quietness of his manner, but as it was she could only tremble like a leaf in the wind, waiting for the next gust to toss her carelessly about. |