Zeru watched Monster closely. He quickly found her face was the most expressive part of her and he longed to be able to know what she thought and what she felt. Her eyes widened and he could not fully grasp why. Had he said something wrong, or was it something else that had gone through her mind. The colt had to slow his breathing and remind himself he could learn with the mare. She had accepted him, welcomed him, and showed him patience he could not imagine. His ear flicked back before all his attention focused on her again, doubling his efforts to read and understand her.

The quirk of her smile, the gleam in her eyes, the movement of her lips. It was only Zeru’s sheer determination and his desperation to be around others again that he watched all these responses and try to put them together. She spoke again and his eyes stared at her lips, following their smooth movements. Frustration gripped him and with every couple of words he thought about giving up and just being. Every time he almost gave up, he remembered the care this mare had given him, her determination to make sure he was alive and cared for when he was new here and breaths from death. Giving up now would have been a poor ‘thank you’. So he watched, and he struggled. He glanced at her eyes, seeing her mirth he was thoroughly confused. He knew she was a mother, though not his. A part of his heart broke at the thought of the splashed mare that had tried to love him and save his life. He could see the the love this mare had for her child, and on some level felt her care across his own shoulders to settle into his body. His smile twitched and he touched her neck gently and nodded in the direction of the foal he knew she had. You good mother. His ears flattened and his face darkened into a scowl. You bad monster. His voice had taken on a tone of resolution, unknowingly making it clear that he thought her skills were better suited for mothering as opposed to monstering. Curious, he noticed the gleam in her eyes and a word he could not recognize that seemed important. Humor?