Falls

With a start, Vihaan realised a stranger had approached. Lifting her head, face wet with shed tears, she turned aside for a few moments, in an attempt to steady her breathing. The dunalino’s ears twitched attentively as the unknown stallion called out to her, and despite her unhappy state, a wan, watery smile spread momentarily across her muzzle. It faded quickly, but there was a brightness in her bronze-brown eyes, a spark of hope. That a stranger would come to her aid, and offer help so willingly and without expecting something in return… It was a small kindness, but one Vihaan would not soon forget.

"Please," she called after a few moments, inviting him closer with a dip of her muzzle. "You need not apologise, and your concern, it matters much." Vihaan was aware her voice still wavered, but was unashamed of this. And, in turn, she did not apologise, even though she may well have disturbed him (among others). The slender mare felt what she felt, and had been holding it tight to her chest for far too long. And oh, how her heart ached. Another stretch of silence, in which the mare sifted through the turmoil of her thoughts, trying to discern what would be appropriate to say.

It did not take Vihaan long to conclude that the simple truth would have to suffice.

"I am torn in two." More than that, she couldn’t share. All the emotions roiling within, they were muddled, and Vihaan didn’t even know where to begin with it all. Where once everything had been so clear for her, so black and white, her path was muddled and muddied grey. Already she missed her family in the Prairie, but some part of her heart had never stopped pining for the Desert, and the treasure she’d left there. Tears still drying on her cheeks, she focused on the red male, finding that he grounded her in the present and drew her from the dangerous depths of her emotion. "Have you ever felt like this?"

It was unlike her to be so… Open with one she did not know. Still, she trusted her instincts. That she was rather perceptive, good at reading others, was something Vihaan prided herself on. And even as turbulent as she was right now, she did not feel this stallion was anything but genuine in his concern. As with all things though, time would tell. For now, Vihaan gave nothing further, and settled into a more comfortable position, alert and attentive for any answer (visual or audible) that the stallion gave, even as the heaving of her chest slowly dissipated.

Vihaan