Meadow

Try not to freak out that he hasn't run away yet. The thought fluttered to mind on the wings of more self-deprecating surprise at the current encounter. He peered down at his leg as she shifted and she found her gaze following briefly, curious of what bothered him. She quickly glanced back to his pale face without commenting, uncertain if it was even something he wanted to address. She kept her wide eyes plastered to him, drinking in every movement and action. She would snatch his words from the air just as quickly as they fell from his lips and, sure enough, he did speak. "Peyote!" She exclaimed with excitement, as if he'd just gifted her the moon. In a sense, he'd given her more than anyone else ever had. Interaction. Time. Sheer notice. Her heart thrummed in her chest, pattering less from nerves and now from elation. She tried hard not to smile like an imbecile, her lips twitching before she pressed them together and tipped her ears forward to hear him speak again.

His next words lulled her excitement a bit. His father would die soon. Did that bother him? She knew, instinctually, that her circumstances were not usual. Most probably had loving parents who doted on them. In the least, most were actually raised by their parents. She wanted to feel bad for him, but she'd never known her father and had hardly known her mother. She had grieved the loss of her mother once she'd realized the mare was not returning from her. That dark night after her realization had been the most frightening of her young life. But before she had learned to fear the dark she'd learned that she would have to be happy alone and that struggle took far more of her energy than fearing the dark, empty expanse of the forest ever would.

She shook her thoughts away when he moved and her gaze followed him with a mixture of confusion and hope. He step down into the water and she noticed the limp in his step. It dawned on her that he was injured and she looked down on his leg. "You're hurt!" She spoke, sympathy in her voice. "I've been injured enough times to know the wonders that cold water can do on the body!" She spoke as if it were something she was proud of. Her discovery had come from a plethora of attacks from both wild animals and, well, those who thought it would be great sport to kill the demon spawn. She'd survived bites, bruises, cuts and she was certain a concussion or two. Now, however, she had learned to seek out the cold water for more than just her physical ailments. It helped keep her mind off of her usual lack of company. The shock of the water usually left her with chills and the hours after that left little time for pondering her loneliness. She turned slightly and shook her messy mane, revealing the spot along her mark with the tell tale sign of equine bite marks that were scarred into her pale skin. "I learned from standing under a waterfall to ease the pain. It hurt far less after that. Since then, I seek out the cold water anytime something is bothering me." She spoke with a small smile, her voice quiet and almost whispered, as though she were offering him a secret that no one else in the world knew.

She shook her mane back into place; though it still fell haphazardly along her neck. She fell silent, not wanting to overwhelm him with her prattling. She didn't know how much conversation was considered normal or abnormal and while she wanted desperately to say all the things she'd ever wished to share with a friend, she knew she might very well chase him off if she weren't careful. His proximity was far closer than any had ever deigned around her, but to chase her from a watering hole or to play sport and hunt her through the woods.

She found herself wondering why he didn't seem to consider either as an option. He was wounded and far closer than any others had dared. Did he not know who she was? She blinked and realized he probably didn't. As if she had lied to him, guilt flickered across her features and she found herself muttering. "My father was rumored to be a demon. Many believe I am as well." So, like, if you're going to fight me or tuck tail and run, do it now before we make an even bigger fool of ourselves. Her inner narrative fairly snarled the words in her mind and she flinched at the thought, before quickly recovering and watching for Peyote's reaction.