· · ───── ·☽◯☾· ───── · ·
As Tattoo reached for her, Sylvi stiffened, prepared to retaliate with teeth against that bold black-and-white hide of his, but then he stopped short of touching her, letting his warm breath trail across the flat plane of her shoulder, like silk so soft it almost made her shudder. Sylvi's eyes were sharp as barbs as she stared him down, and her ears were twisted back against the sodden dark drape of her mane.
The outcome of this encounter had sharpened into focus in her mind's eye. This was a game to Tattoo, and as long as she continued to react, he would continue playing with her. She breathed out with flared nostrils, steadying herself as the veil of her hot breath filled the air between them like a smoke signal.
"I am bored of this, Tattoo. Let me show you what I'd rather do than talk to you right now," she declared.
With a hard snort, Sylvi shoved past Tattoo with the shoulder he had touched with his breath. She strode briskly through the dark toward the sea, the wind and freezing rain biting at her exposed skin like so many flies. She did not turn, did not so much as tilt an ear in the stallion's direction, though internally her heart galloped to have her back turned to him. She could only pray he didn't see it as some crude invitation.
The black of the water swallowed the white of her legs like a cavernous maw, and Sylvi bit back a scream at how bitingly cold it was. She waded in, carefully, as a break in the heavy clouds bathed her in moonlight and cast a million shining stars in the water. Only when the sea hit her at her chest did Sylvi stop, turning to look back pointedly in Tattoo's direction with a gaze still fierce, even as her body shook and her teeth chattered.