Meadow
Force-claiming is not allowed here. This is a peaceful, neutral area meant for socialising.
Posted on September 18, 2022 at 12:13:15 PM by SHENZI
“Thank you,” the tired brown mare reaches to murmur against the curve of the slender stallion’s neck. There are no words for how grateful she is to have him with her. She heaves a sigh, comforted and reassured by the fact that he is there, and that he is real. It is no dream. It’s far better than that. Not to be alone…
Shenzi is silent, until Gecerciz speaks up and says that he should be thanking her. A soft peal of laughter slips between her lips, and suddenly everything that is weighing her down seems to fall from her shoulders, for just a few, precious moments. Just as quickly, she sobers again moments later, when the healer speaks words that breathe life back into her broken heart. “I have you,” she echoes, earnestly, deeply moved. “And you have me.” And then, a little more quieter and subdued; “I should never have left you.” It wasn’t clear - even to her - if she meant after their reunion here in the Meadow, or, all that time ago, in Salem. If she had stayed in the Dunes, much would have been different. But there was no going back, and there was certainly no undoing all that had been done.
“No,” comes the swift response, sharper on her lips than any other word spoken so far. “I will never be ready to be rid of you Gecerciz.” Shenzi musters all her waning strength to straighten, and lifts her head to seek and hold the stallion’s golden-brown gaze. She’ll wait for him to look at her, if she has to, because she wants - she needs him to know that the words she speaks - she means every one of them. “You are too good for this world - it does not deserve you.” It was Shenzi’s truth, and given that she had little else to hold onto, she’d hold firmly onto this one thing of which she was convinced.
And, without knowing it, the slim, black teke goes on to prove it.
“Gecerciz,” Shenzi croaks, and the rest of the words stick in her throat, choking her. I can’t do that to you - I can’t ask you to go back there. Salem is a graveyard for the both of them. His father and mother. Her second son. But she wasn’t asking. Gecko was offering. And she had resolved in her heart to do anything to save the child she now carried. Eventually, she finds her voice again, and with a small nod, she accedes to the sooty-coated healer’s suggestion.
“The Hills to the east, they’ll be closest. Will the herbs you need be there? I do not know who reigns there…” Her eyes slip closed for a short time, and then she stirs, to finish her thought. “Maybe they’ll look upon me favourably, as you do.” This is offered with a smile, as Shenzi attempts to lighten her own mood. But she doesn’t really mean it. The opinions of strangers have never mattered much to her, and many times in the past, she’s felt misjudged. But the only opinion that matters to her now is that of the stallion before her. The little shadow from the dune sea.
“Thank you, Gecerciz,” the scarred, sad mare whispers as she leans a little into his side, eyes slipping closed, and sleep almost overtaking her, exhaustion slurring her words. “I feel like I can do anything if you’re with me.”
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