Falls

Faolain’s world was calm. It was almost as if her emotional hurricane had never happened. It was easy to forget that she had almost walked away, and that doing so would have felt like shattering; now, it seemed as though she could have just left without consequence. It would have been fine. It would have felt normal. The fact that she had turned back, and kept her path merged with Iscariot’s and Rivaini’s paths, seemed equally as normal. This was what happened when you helped someone; they stayed with you, physically or mentally. Faolain had helped others before, but not with something like this. No wonder she had been confused. This was new. She felt relief, knowing that she was not going crazy for feeling such odd emotions regarding her attachment to Iscariot, though a voice still nagged quietly that if this was normal, why wasn’t she as attached to Rivaini?

But she ignored that voice. It didn’t matter. She would ponder over her relationship (if you could call it that) with Rivaini another time. Faolain suspected the silver bay was not entirely convinced of the Teke’s motives, which was fair, and the trust between her and Iscariot was not present with her and Rivaini. She felt that she held similarities to each of them; Rivaini was calculative, and Iscariot was empathetic, and their relationship seemed logical to Faolain because those were complementary traits. But what did Faolain have to offer them? She had not turned to leave after all; she had returned because she wanted to continue her life with the siblings in it, but she did not know if they wanted her.

She did not dwell on this internal conflict. It was an easier one to stomach than the storm from earlier. This one was closer to a bit of overcast skies than a monsoon, and it was a simple matter of waiting, as she would not be able to predict what Iscariot and Rivaini wanted until they told her, or until she asked. She was content to be patient as Iscariot spoke, and then Rivaini, each thanking the black mare for her help. Faolain flushed; her face had never felt heat before like it did now. This day was full of firsts, it seemed.

She accepted Rivaini’s outstretched muzzle, watching as a smile lit the russet mare’s otherwise serious features. Faolain found herself mirroring, and she smiled in return, equally as genuine. Where usually she became thrown off when the calm surface of her mind suddenly reflected the bright and moving emotions of someone else, this time she did not mind. Rivaini’s voice was pleasant and genuine, and her amicable tug at Iscariot’s mane made Faolain laugh, though she struggled with how to respond. "I know," she said, her tone warm, a change from its usual flatness. "That he is precious to you, I mean. I haven’t yet found him to be a pain, but we’ve only known each other a few hours in total. The night is still young." She laughed again, a soft rumbling sound that was followed by a few moments of comfortable silence. The thickening darkness was cooling the air around them. The mist from the waves caused slight shivers in Faolain’s thinly-furred skin, but they did not deepen into her muscles, and she enjoyed the gentle bite of the cold.

While you were gone, I wandered some and met a mare named Rhadra, Iscariot said, his quiet voice breaking the quiet crashing of the waves. Everything now seemed softened, sleepy. Faolain smiled at him, unbothered by his neglect of her request to stay, and listened to his recollection of the time spent alone after she had left him on the beach. The questions she had been thinking of earlier swam to the surface once again as Iscariot answered them unprompted.

Her eyes passed between Iscariot and Rivaini, and back again. "You would like me to stay?" she asked, her tone almost expressing disbelief, though her face had once again fallen into its familiar mask of blankness. "I have little to offer… But I would like to remain in each other’s lives." Her words became more definite, a statement of fact. Faolain knew she could find ways to be useful, but it was strange to think that Iscariot might want her around simply because he liked her. She was still unsure if Rivaini trusted her or not, but she could not blame the silver bay for being wary, and she did not get a feeling of dislike from the other mare. Her words had been warm and her smile had been welcoming, and the brief connection Faolain had felt to her a moment ago was enough to know that there was at least a foundation to work with. Her eyes passed between the siblings once again. Completely irrelevant to the past few days, she found herself appreciating the both of them for their physical warmth in this moment. The heat from the early spring sun was rapidly dissipating, but she was standing close enough to her companions that the cold did not reach her.

"Dialogue"