Inlet

Mizuki had accepted her upbringing as just a part of life. It was how things had been done in her birthland. It had been that way for many generations. It was only after she had spent some time on Tinuvel, and had been exposed to a different culture, that she had realised that there was a very fine line between family expectations and abuse. Through her teary eyes Mizuki could hardly decipher the features on Nicodemus’ face. Everything was a distorted blur, he was a fuzzy silhouette against the white painted backdrop. Yet his emotions were coming through his voice as clear as a bell. There was no judgement or resentment there. She was almost taken aback when she felt his tongue lovingly wipe away a tear across her face. For a long time the pair had communicated with actions just like that but now that barrier was being dismantled one piece at a time. From now on they could dive to deeper depths of understanding.

The little grey mare felt her breath catch in her throat as he compared her to the snow that was dancing all around them. Her heart began to swell with joy to the point she thought it might burst. No one had ever said anything so complimentary to her before. She considered herself to be below average, just a dumpy little grey mare a stallion would keep just to fill his herd numbers. She didn’t think of herself as delicate, pristine or beautiful. She sniffed as more tears streamed down her face except these were tears of joy. Swept up in the moment she wanted to declare her love for him but she restrained herself. It was a word that was almost considered sacred and perhaps it was a little too soon to be used in their developing relationship. So instead she thought of a more modest way of expressing herself.

“I am happy that fate led me to you,” she spoke softly through a smile. Demonstrating that she had listened and understood everything that he had said. Stretching out her dainty head she wrapped her neck across his chest in a loving embrace. She closed her eyes and breathed in his familiar scent. She felt, and could hear, his heart beating deep inside. When she opened her eyes she almost chuckled when she saw her brother. He had woken up and was deliberately averting his gaze from the tender scene.