Falls

The nip Reh left on the soft velvet of her lips sent a little snap of electricity through Cel, and she yanked her head back with a barely-stifled squeal. She reached out to deliver a retaliatory bite of significantly greater force (even though she was not truly angry) but the champagne stallion was already off, surging toward the Crossing’s eastern shore. With a snort, Celestine followed after him, releasing a bit of excited energy by kicking out at the empty air behind her in a buck.

It was immediately obvious that Rehoboam was taking her off-island, and the prospect of seeing any of the other islands was thrilling. Celestine tried not to show her excitement as she wove through the trees after Rehoboam like a huge cat after a rabbit, but her heavy, low-set tail could not help but flag upwards a few times as she went.

She knew Reh likely expected her to pick on him for this game of chase, but instead, Cel made a game out of simply keeping pace with him as they dodged through the Crossing’s forests. She pressed close to his side, trying to see how smoothly she could remain next to him without shoving either him or herself into a tree. It was enormously fun to her, and she found immense satisfaction in sharing a single flow of movement with another body.

Even sliding to a halt at the edge of the water was a synchronized movement, but Celestine soon broke their silent, temporary connection by surging immediately into the waves. “A lady isn’t afraid of a little water,” she said teasingly as the swells rose around her legs, and then belly, and then slid over her back. “A lady might even enjoy a little dip.”

Though she had moved ahead into the water, Celestine did not swim off entirely; she instead began to tread water, and cast her icy blue gaze over her shoulder to watch as Rehoboam took the lead.