The taking of Paradise from beneath their feet had not been expected or ideal. Clio had been pregnant and been forced to give birth in the wilds of the Crossing rather than safely within their home. The time in the Falls had been well-spent it seemed, bringing him, Clio, and Rya closer. Skogsra he felt was happy to be on the move, down to her restless soul.
Through the dark and shadow, his pearl came to find them. Somewhere in the near distance, their children were likely sleeping. Warmth kindled in the embers within his heart, pleased in the knowing that this mare cared so deeply for their children and would never let harm come to them. He relished the certainty of her bond to him through them.
As Clio's pale form came nearer, words left her lips. “I was uncertain at first,” she admitted, “About staying here, in a land so open and accessible to anyone.” Carthage's dark head turned toward the mare, crimson eyes upon every lithe movement of her body. A brow raised in question, though she could not see. He waited patiently, knowing the white female would elaborate from her tone. “I must say I’ve grown to appreciate it, for the way it’s brought us closer.”
As her voice dropped lower, the dark bay's focus narrowed upon the mare. A purr thrummed from deep within the cavern of his chest, radiating his pleasure as the moon white female tucked herself against him. Gently do her pale lips kiss against the arch of his neck. He closes his eyes for a moment, sighing a breath. And then Carthage turned to trace his own maw against what he could reach of her: the curve of her cheek, the plain of of her neck and shoulder. Each touch a reminder that she was his.
His touch swept upward along her neck until the stallion could lip teasingly at the strands of mane near her ears. Murmuring into the mare's pale skin, Carthage did not admit he, too, had been pleased with the way things had gone, despite the way it had started. Instead the male asked a question, a silver-tongued prying into her faith in him. "Did you doubt I could keep you safe, my sweet?"