Falls

It is not until she turns her terrified gaze up at him that he realizes how fearsome he must look to her in her state. He was tall like his father and solidly built despite the lack of draft lineage in his family. Muscles rippled easily beneath a hide that was far more scared than most his age - evidence of a childhood spent sparring with more brothers than he could count. Even putting aside his appearance, some part of him understood that it was risky for her to be alone with him because of the season. He knew that he was no rapist, but how would she know such a thing?

Suddenly chagrined, his ears tip back just as she asserts her independence. Now that she had asserted that she was fine, even if she didn't look it, he not only felt rather helpless, but now small and in-the-way. The lean tobiano stepped back to give her space, his pale tail lashing uneasily against the spotted markings on his haunches.

Even as he does so, his mind is spinning, trying to find the right words of apology to absolve her of obligation or worry. He didn't mean her any harm, and the unfairness of the things that he could not help - his size, his gender, the season - being counted against him made him uneasy. He is so absorbed in figuring out what to say that he isn't at all prepared for her sudden stumble forward. For better or worse, his instincts tell him to move into pressure and to meet the threat (as laughable as it was to call the meek little mare a threat) head-on, and so he does so. Suleiman steps forward as she lurches, providing a stable surface for her to lean against.

A surprised little oh escapes him, and he tenses against his body's natural reaction to the proximity of a mare in fall. Swallowing hard against the rush of hormones that was sending flames licking across the surface of his body, he struggles to reconcile the desire to hold her closer with the desire to protect and help her. Both of them demanded that he pull her closer - one for support, and one for intimacy. Helpless to deny either, Suleiman very carefully and very carefully lifts his head so that he can tuck her shoulder more securely against his own and then pulls away, despite every cell in his body demanding that he touch her more.

"It's okay." He says by way of reassuring her, his mind desperately searching for a way to encourage her to stay. "I was a little chilly anyway," he fibs, making the choice to weaken himself to allow her to feel stronger. "You can get your land legs back, and I can warm up this way."

He chuckles nervously, his ears flicking back and forth as he steadies himself. Maybe if they introduced themselves some of this awkwardness would ease? "I'm Suleiman."