Meadow
Force-claiming is not allowed here. This is a peaceful, neutral area meant for socialising.
Posted on September 4, 2022 at 01:00:02 PM by SHENZI
"It’s really you?" the scarred barb murmured in reply, staring into the darkness of the oncoming night. When she felt the solid, warm weight of him bumping into her, she did not startle, did not move at all except shift her weight back in an effort not to lose her balance. "You’re still here." And though it was barely visible in the gloom, a thin, strained smile flickered momentarily across her lips. Her small ears twisted forward to catch every soft syllable the near-invisible stallion spoke, bobbing her head at his questions, but her own answer, when she gave it, was vague. "You came..."
And now that he was here, Shenzi suddenly felt at a loss.
"I’m so tired, Geçersiz..." An almost-reason for seeking him out. It was not her greatest concern, but if she didn’t get on top of it soon, it would begin to take a heavy toll on her.
"I can’t," she stressed, the word almost forced between her teeth, and then, in a softer tone, barely above a whisper, came the clarification. "Sleep." And perhaps it was the deepening of her exhaustion. Or a sudden rush of anxiety. Or the realisation that she very well might be burdening him with her fears and failures…This was the last thing she wanted.
Uncharacteristically, her nerves got the better of her, and she fell to rambling. "Are you tired? Sorry if I woke you. When did it get so dark?" But she couldn’t keep pretending. Silence had settled upon the lonely pair so thickly that Shenzi struggled to draw in a stuttering breath. Steadied herself, and mentally cast about for the words that would lead to the truth she was afraid to speak aloud. "I don’t… I don’t have anywhere to go, or anyone..." Shenzi had considered the Peak, but given the reaction it had drawn from Nyimara, the brown mare didn’t feel she could return there, lest the wrath of the silver-haired queen follow her to the mountain’s mighty base.
It felt like a stone had lodged in her throat, for how difficult it was to make a sound, and how it hurt to swallow. Her hesitation wasn’t born out of any kind of self-consciousness. Shenzi had no energy to spare for that. Besides, young as he was, Shenzi knew Geçersiz to be more than capable. The last time… The last time they’d been here, he’d told Shenzi of his first patient (of sorts); he’d been there for the birth of Sarisi, his sister.
No, it was a fear that pervaded everything she was, this was what rendered her silent before him now. The stocky mare was afraid of what the future might hold. Afraid of what Geçersiz might tell her. Afraid that she’d had her only chance, and had ruined it.
Eventually though, painfully aware of how long she’d left the slender, sooty black teke waiting, Shenzi hoarsely confessed. "I lost them. I lost my first two. And I can’t, Geçersiz, I can’t..." She was cut short, throat too thick and raw to speak any more right now, and she was grateful for the darkness, for it made it easy for her to turn her face ide and blink away the hot tears that gathered in her eyes.
If anyone could help her, it would be him, and if there was something she could do, anything - even the most obscure sounding remedy that would potentially increase the chance of this child surviving 'til birth?
Shenzi would take it.
Replies:
- fear not the darkness: fear not the darkness: it is only me - By Geçersiz September 7, 2022 at 07:04:20 AM
- how hard i tried to breathe - By SHENZI September 18, 2022 at 12:13:15 PM
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