I would honestly love you now,
But I would lovingly let you down.
The two-toned stallion watched the other with great interest. While he chose to remain silent, his body language was rather expressive, putting Jabari's mind at ease that he wasn't going to be chased back into the waves with the threat of teeth and hoof. Instead, the young red stud seemed quite hospitable. Their exchange of breath was quick and to the point, but it solidified the start of a conversation. Even if it was just Jabari doing the talking.
The painted stallion's blue eyes trained expertly onto his newfound companion, watching his ears stay erect and at attention, and following the stranger's gaze back into the woods, even though no one else seemed to be coming to join him.
Silence spanned between them as Jabari waited patiently for whatever was supposed to happen next - it certainly was out of his control. It wasn't until the friendly red stallion attempted to speak, parting his lips without the ability to form words, that it finally dawned on him.
"Oh... Oh!" Jabari said, startled.
It had been many years since his mute dam's death, but the red stallion's behaviors all made sense now. Jabari was born to a mother who could not speak. It created a unique and special bond between them. They shared a language that few others knew or could ever understand.
"I understand." Jabari reiterated, offering the stallion a short-lived but warm smile.
"You must be the one in charge, then." He said, cocking his head to one side as he waited to register an answer. "And that dark mare... Long gone?"
Jabari breathed a heavy sigh, allowing his gaze to wander down the quiet stretch of beach. "I've been away from the islands for some time. It feels like a lot has changed."
"Does that awful brute Rougaru still live next door?" Jabari said next with the narrowing of his eyes and brief pin of his ears. He realized he was taking a gamble here, speaking of a neighbor with clear distaste. But Jabari had no interest in sticking around if this quiet stud had aligned himself with the silver bay stallion, anyway.
His pink nostrils flared as he took in the scents of the Ridge again, intrigued by his company and the foreign landscape all around him. "I'd like to stay, if you don't mind. Perhaps just for a few days. I'm happy to help you and your family, should you need it, during this time." Another gamble. But Jabari was tired. And he had nothing left to lose.
Stallion | Brienne x Shamwari | Chesnut Overo | 15.2 h| Photo © Carina Mailwald | © Vinyl |
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