For a few mere moments, all thoughts and emotions leave her, Twinge finds herself merely enjoying the feel of the adrenaline coursing through her veins and the warmth of the blood as it boils beneath her skin. Life here, as with the desert, had its moments of boredom and day to day activity that was much the same. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. Every now and then, the wolves might appear and threaten their small herd with sharp white fangs and hungry yellow eyes, but always Bacardi and Valka defended the herd as her father had defended the Desert before them. This was the way of life.

Yet it was not the life Twinge was ready to submit to. Other mares were having foals, tying themselves down to the land and family and yet the painted bay mare was not ready yet. At least that's what she continued to tell herself. She wanted to be able to run free, to be able to taste the wind and race the eagles as they soared through the high peaks. She wanted to know no limitations or restrictions, and that did not include caring for a child. Though she only had one younger sister, Twinge spent years watching as her mother and other mares of the desert herds guided wobbly legged children here and there, protecting them from potential dangers and teaching them all the necessary tools they would need to survive on their own. The same lessons that Twinge herself suffered through. No. She wasn't ready for that.

Yet as Bacardi approaches her now, thundering down the sloping incline, Twinge would be lying if she did not admit that her heart fluttered a beat. Muscles bunch beneath his bay and white pelt, his thick neck coiled tightly like a spring. Even beneath the thick layer of fur, the sun managed to shine on his coat with health. Even with the distance that separates them, she can see the startling yellow-gold of his eyes, the eyes of so many predators that roamed the world and yet in those eyes, she found excitement not fear.

He charges towards her and despite the smile on her face she braces herself, expecting him to slide against her body as she had done over countless childhood games with her own siblings. Small fluted ears tilt backwards as he pulls up short. His long legs lift high beneath him as he comes to a prancing halt, extending his ash dusted muzzle towards her shoulder in an attempt to seek her forgiveness. Paper thin nostrils flare as she arches her long slender neck, casting him a side-long glance from beneath the thick veil of her obsidian forelock. A mischievous smile tugs at the corner of her lips as his rumbling voice warms her skin.

Forgiveness. He sought forgiveness? For what? Had he not been promoted to Valka’s right hand man? She did not miss the way the small chestnut woman stared after him or sought his counsel when dangers rose. Was he not the protector of the Bay? She had watched on more than one occasion, how he chased off straying wolves at the risk of his own life, for the sake of the herd. Forgiveness. The thought was almost amusing. She almost laughed aloud and yet the sincerity on his face was enough to silence it before it burst from her lips.

Instead she jerks away from his touch with a playful squeal, her dark eyes sparkling in the bright sunlight. Slender legs pivot beneath her as she lunges towards him, bumping roughly into his shoulder in passing. An invitation as she used to do with her siblings when games were in need. Thick black and white banner lifts high over the curve of her hip as she saunters past him, arching her slender neck to cast her gaze back to him with a sultry bat of her lashes. A taunting nicker teases the air between them as the need to action fuels the rise of hormones through her veins. She pauses a moment, a single forelimb striking the rocky earth beneath her. For a moment she is immobile, suspended by reality and the tie of his intense gaze locked with her own.

Words gather in her throat, but she refuses them. She could taunt him with a quip response or playful tease. She could whisper affectionate words or vocalize her praise and yet for whatever reason she cannot force them from her lungs. Somehow, even mere speech would ruin the tension and built up passion between them. So, with a toss of her small head in invitation, she lunges down the slope and onto the pebbled beach, her long tail flagging behind her.