His body has fought for more hours than it had any right to, in order to keep his lungs inflating and his heart beating. It had fought valiantly, not knowing if there was a light at the end of this tunnel, fighting because that's what life was at it's core for the overo: a fight. It had been from the moment he had opened his eyes to this harsh world with his equally harsh mother. He had fought from his first breath to survive, and he would continue fighting until the very end because he knew no other way.

But Ripple eased some of the desperation in his fighting, soothed that wild fear in his breast that made consciousness come with a frantic desire to rise, to go, to escape. With Ripple here, he could breathe a moment or two first, could let the panic that drove him dissipate. Her reassurances soothed him more than he could convey, even when his flitting consciousness stole the exact meaning from her words. He could feel what she meant, and took comfort from that as his breath eased from its earlier frenetic pace. He does not try to speak again - couldn't, likely, even if he wanted to - but he shifts with his eyes closed to press his muzzle against her hoof, touching her, as much as he can.

He had been alone in the beginning, too, and he does not want to be anymore.

---

The boy can hear his mother beckon to him, but she feels so far away, as if she and his father sit at the end of a very long tunnel rather than a short downslope. It isn't until Teasel and her brood approach that he is shaken from it, the sound of their hoofbeats making him jump to the side as if shocked, his eyes gone wide with fear. He understood, in a logical sort of sense, what had happened. After all, his momma had warned him often enough about the cats that prowled the high steps, lurking in wait for unsuspecting horses. But not only did those things not happen, they didn't happen to his father.

Raegar was invincible. Untouchable. Even when he 'lost' their games of play, Sway was grown up enough now to know that his dad was only letting him win.

So how had this happened?

When his sisters passed him on the task their mother had sent them on, he considered following, but his heart tugged him forward to Ripple's side and he pressed his loudly painted body against her ribcage, not yet brave enough to approach his father himself. He listens as Teasel takes command of the situation, and though he hesitates when she orders the two girls away again, he eventually moves to follow them himself, if only to stay busy. From there, he will mutely take their lead in finding the paddles, his steps wooden and his voice silent.

---

The clouds begin to thin again with the sound of another voice above him, although he does not know how long has passed in between. The sharp, crisp smell of something fresh beneath his nose is almost overwhelming against the desiccation of the small depression he'd sheltered in and his nostrils flare with each breath. He remembered that smell. Remembered the taste of the juice on his lips, of the way he'd pressed silly, slobbery nuzzles of affection on his children's brows and necks to tease them.

He swallows, but the motion is as painful as last time and it causes him to wince, his ears pinning momentarily as he squinted his eyes open, peering up at the two figures hovering protectively over him. He didn't know what he had done to deserve two angels, but it felt as though - piece by piece - his world was righting itself. He was not yet ready to speak again, his throat still on fire from his earlier attempt, but his nares fluttered with a quiet whicker from somewhere deep in his chest.

young stallion - mutt - seal bay overo - 15.1h - rafe x velahrn