Meadow

The mare doesn’t ignore him, but the heat in her gaze when it falls on Arneis makes him flick an ear back, and wish for a moment she had ignored him, or maybe that he hadn’t called out to begin with. He’s a match for her in height, but he’s still reedy and thin as a result of his most recent growth spurt, leggy with youth and years from filling out. There’s absolutely no way he could take her, if she decided to take exception with his comment, and make things physical. And her face doesn’t exactly look...pleased that he approached, and she’s certainly not terribly welcoming. Arneis is nervous again, especially once he hears her response - apparently she is running from someone.

It’s an unsettling confirmation, and he hesitantly looks around them. He doesn’t see anyone approaching like they’re after her, but that doesn’t mean she’s lying; she was running awfully fast when he watched her. Maybe they’ve just not caught up to her yet. The mares voice is short and sharp, gaze assessing as it passes over him. Her lip curls as she speaks, and Arneis takes a nervous half-step back from her, casting his gaze around them. She makes eye contact, then, staring at him, and Arneis is so suddenly flustered that he can’t look away. Instead, his chocolate-brown eyes stare into hers, and the long moments before she speaks again are intense. She asks after his mother, and Arneis flushes with shame. He knows he’s young, but he’s perfectly capable of traveling on his own. Why is this always the first thing strangers ask?

“She’s gone.” He blurts, awkward under the scrutiny. “I mean,” he says, voice cracking. “I’m looking for her.” He’s not entirely certain how much detail he can go into. When does it verge into uncomfortable oversharing? That’s a balance he hasn’t been able to reach yet - obviously he needs to ask strangers about the mystery mare than is his mother, but ‘I’m looking for the mare who abandoned me at birth, do you know any spotted, tall bay mares with gold eyes?’ isn’t exactly an easy conversation segue. So far, leading with his hopeless quest only ever winds up with a rapid exit from whoever he asks. Arneis isn’t exactly good at the soft approach, instead just blurting it out.

She asks if he’s alone, and Arneis doesn’t think about how perhaps he should lie, naive enough to not even consider that there may be danger here. “Yeah, I’m alone.” He hesitates for a few long, quiet moments and then asks, “Have you traveled much? Maybe you’ve seen her?”