The Prairie was growing and for that, Zevulun felt pride, relief, and also a higher sense of duty to keep everyone here safe. There were times he wandered the shoreline, glancing out over the waves and remembering watching the silver-haired mare take Ramiel away from him. Despite that loss, and even though he felt guilt for it, Zevulun was not worried about his son. Ramiel was the most level-headed of his older children and Zevulun was sure he was more than capable of handling himself wherever he was. If it’d been Raziel who had been taken, Zevulun might’ve worried a little more. Raziel would have been likely to pick fights with her and with her herd mates, Ramiel would at least be smart enough to not do that.
Eventually he knew his son would come home to him. This wasn’t the first time they’d been separated, only the first time their separation had been forced upon them rather than a choice one or the other had made.
Giving his head a shake as though to physically rattle the thoughts around and push them back, out of the forefront of his mind, Zevulun picked up his hooves and continued his idle walk through the Prairie. Though most of the herd stayed together there were small gatherings that often chose to stay elsewhere and, given the activity growing among the islands, he wanted to make certain he was checking on them too.
He noticed a figure off to his left, near where there were a few trees casting shade down over the yellow grasses. Zevulun drew to a slow halt and lifted his head, peering across the distance and immediately realized that it was Aurélie. An immediate smile warmed his pale lips as that same warmth bloomed through his chest and, just like that, all the woes that’d previously been bouncing about in his mind were quickly shelved and put aside. Zevulun picked his white knees up high as he cut over the slightly damp grass and moved toward her, feeling the ground squelch just so under his pale hooves.
Have you ever tasted anything so sweet?
Though he smiled there was a sort of roguishness in it as he kept walking toward her rather than stopping with space between them, seeking comfort in touching her warm, pretty coat. He enjoyed lightly tracing the spots along her hip with his lips and, just before his mouth touched her this time he playfully murmured, “I can think of a few things,” his breath warm on her skin before he softly kissed her, blue eyes holding her face and wondering if he’d ever seen anything so beautiful.
Zevulun moved slowly up so he could stand beside her, though his lips led the trail along her coat, gently brushing the faint swell of her belly that would only grow larger with time, and then ruffled her dark hair. He inhaled deep, dragging her scent into her lungs, enjoying the way it warmed him, the way it tasted. He sighed and leaned so his body could rub up against hers, their shared heat staving off the coolness of standing in the shadows.
“How are you this morning, my kismet?”
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