Larka is exhausted to say the least. Despite birthing foals before, never had she imagined that she would bring not one but two foals into this world at one time. It was enough to cure her from the desire of ever wanting to repeat the process. She does not miss the worry in Ayiana's eyes but she find that she can do no more than offer her golden daughter a reassuring smile and gentle nod. She needed to catch her breath if only for a moment.
The sound of crunching leaves is enough to draw her from the exhausted lull that began to slowly seep into her bones. Small ears perk forward amid the tangled mass of her obsidian mane. Instinctively she finds her feet, her legs splaying just a bit as she tried to find her balance once more. Only then does the realization hit her that it is Shamwari who appears, worry gleaming bright in his dark eyes. Deep down she chided herself for letting the fear and worry envelop her. This was not Liland or his every changing herd. She was in the Prairie and Shamwari above all others would never allow anyone to hurt her or their foals.
Warmth flooded her heart as Shamwari moved towards them, gently brushing Ayiana's shoulder with his muzzle in reasurance. Warmly she nickers to her daughter, "I am fine Ayiana I promise. Go on now, get you a drink. You have helped me enough for now. Soon enough your brother and sister will be hounding you to take them exploring. Escape while you can." she teases, her tired eyes watching until finally Ayiana rubs her head against Shamwari's neck and disappears back towards the river. "She has been with me since dawn." she murmurs to her mate, leaning her weary frame against his own, finding comfort and strength in the taunt muscles that stand solid beneath his copper coat. "She needs some rest herself. I hope she gets it." she breathes.
Though she knew his love for her, and their children were proof enough that time and again their couplings proved to secure their bond still when the words of love fall from his lips she feels her breath catching in her own lungs. Shamwari. There had been doubt in her mind once before, a doubt that turned into a nightmare of her own making. Her doubt had drawn her away from him for years on end and into the herd of another. Liland's oppression had done much to remind her of that feeling that overwhelmed her when first she set her sights upon him on the desert shore. Shamwari. Her beloved Shamwari.
Perhaps she was emotional from giving birth, perhaps it was simply the depth of the feelings that encircled their lives. Whatever the reason, Larka could not stop the tears that formed in her eyes. A tender smile ghosts across her ash dusted lips as affectionately she nuzzles him, tucking her small dished head beneath the protection of his own. So neatly it fit, into the concave of his throat that sometimes she wondered if it was not that the gods meant it to be there. "I love you Shamwari. You are my sun and moon, our family, all of it, my stars. I dare not imagine a moment again in which we are not together." she breathes pressing herself close a moment longer, savoring the weight of the silence that builds up around them.
Until the foals begin to squirm, their voices complatif. Almost reluctantly she draws her head from beneath his own, a warm smile upon her lips. "They are hungry... and no doubt you want to meet your new son and daughter." she teases, flicking him playfully with her tail. Still on shaking legs of her own she moves with slow, stiff steps towards them, her ashen muzzle nudging first the colt and then the filly, tenderly helping them to their feet. The sweet scent of her milk is enough to draw them like hungry wolves. Greedily they suckle from her, the filly stomping her tiny hooves enthusiastically.
Pale eyes glisten as Larka nuzzles each of her new foals, savoring the warmth of their skin before glancing up at Shamwari. "Have you thought of any names my love?" she inquires, love glowing in her eyes as she tilts her head inviting him closer.