Tiare watched the rain fall down in sheets, ears flicking this way and that as she listened to it from the relatively safety of the cave she’d tucked away in. A shiver crawled over her skin as she worried over whether this was an ordinary storm or one of the ones, she’d been warned about Tinuvel having in these seasons. What would happen if it didn’t let up? She couldn’t stay tucked away in here forever, after all. Tiare blew a soft breath at herself, shaking her large, boxy head and firmly deciding she wouldn’t allow herself to continue to worry for no reason. All storms broke at some point, and as soon as there was light to travel by, she’d pick back up her exploration and see all she had come to see.
It was at that moment she heard a few noises that were different from the rain. Breathing, scrambling, a thud, mud pushed around hooves, and her eyes widened as she realized too late that they were making right for the cave she was in. Their shape blocked out the rain as they made their way into the awning of the cave, and she could make out a few features, even in the dark, but it was the scent that told her what she needed to know.
Stallion. Native.
Suddenly very aware of her size and how much of the cavern she was taking up, Tiare attempted to push her haunches back toward the worn rock wall and even sidled her belly and shoulder up along the side, hoping to offer him as much room as she could. It was a little uncomfortable for her, but she would manage. This was clearly where he lived (the smell of this land was worn on him like a second coat) and she was the intruder, so he had more rights to this cave than she did.
His presence was a welcome warmth, despite this being the first time she’d ever been alone and so close with a strange stallion. If not for the circumstances, Tiare certainly wouldn’t be pressed up against him as she was now. As much as she enjoyed exploring the islands and was quite a social butterfly, Tiare hadn’t spent as much time with stallions as she did mares.
“I’m Tiare,” she responded to his question and laughed a little softly, a little nervously, as he mentioned the rain chasing her here and her luck in finding it. “I know,” she bobbed her wide head a couple of times, “I just managed to find it before the worst of it came down,” she could also smell the rain soaked into his coat and the mud on his legs, “Looks like you weren’t quite as lucky.” She teased with a smile.
“Sorry for trespassing, by the way,” she remembered her manners, even ducking her head with a little bit of shame, “I was hoping to explore Tinuvel before the weather turned, but I’m afraid I came a little too late.”
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