The encounter with the chestnut mare, guarded selfishly like a shining bauble by the towering mess of a stallion, had left the golden bay Akhal-Teke feeling pangs of annoyance in his chest as he walked from the Common to the Falls, the abundant waterfall roaring in the distance as he got closer. It was a horrid pity when a fine woman had no concept of her own self-worth, so much so that she would take to clinging to the first warm body that crossed her path. Like Kore, who undoubtedly roamed this island or elsewhere having suffered something of an emotional breakdown, she was not mentally fit for his herd. It really was a shame, and he had said as much to them both, but Maslakhat would not force anyone to stay or go somewhere they didn’t want to be. Best case, they might come to realize the error of their ways, or they simply would go on, living lives less fulfilled than they could be. All he could do was offer the option—they would need to make the choice.
And then, he saw her.
Another glistening, familiar form—jet black with eyes like lapis rock, steely and cold, drinking from the pool of water that gathered at the base of the falls as though she was placed there, just for him. He smiled at his fortune, never failing to commend the universe for the balance it offered. After all, what was meant to happen—would happen, and he had crafted the possibility precisely for that outcome.
Maslakhat straightened his posture, coming to stillness just within earshot, lifting his long neck upright as he looked on at her from down his nose, the late-morning light that split the treetops dappling his golden coat even further as it shone its trademark glisten.
“İğrenç, değil mi?” He remarked of the waterfall, letting his eyes drift to how it gushed unapologetically from the rocks in which it originated. “Such abundance breeds weakness,” he continued in the common tongue as he took a few steps closer toward her. “But you,” he returned his deep brown eyes to her expertly crafted form before him. “You were forged from sand and stone under the heat of an unforgiving sun, tested again and again and prevailing each time.”
He said as much because it was obvious, but it too was a challenge—to rise to the occasion he knew she was made for, so that he might lead the way.
MASLAKHAT
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