He stalks forward, lithe as a lion though a lion could only dream of such size and presence. He is impossible to ignore, not that I wish to do such a thing. Each step rumbles through my hooves though such a thing should be impossible and my breath grows more shallow the closer he gets.

And he touches me, and for a moment, nothing else matters.

I shiver beneath his touch, my skin prickling with equal parts delight and terror. All too easily I could remember how those same lips had left me scarred, how they'd pulled me back to the Lagoon when I wanted nothing more than to be away, the way they'd tangled in my mane when we'd come together to conceive Nazanin.

For a moment, I am stiff, unmoving as he touches me though it is not because I do not want him. Rather, his presence short-circuited my thoughts, leaving me breathless and waiting for him to close the milimeter wide gap between our bodies. His touch skims across my neck and I finally reciprocate, should he allow it, reaching forward with more boldness than I normally allot myself to trail my own muzzle down the broad expanse of his chest as I soak in the masculine scent of him like my own personal drug.

His rejoinder takes a moment to soak into my fluted ears but when I do, it is met with a rueful chuckle and a sassy flick of my tail. "Don't worry, she'll be old enough to swim soon." I murmur, though it's only half true. Nazanin could swim now - a necessity given the Lagoon's topography - but I would not endeavor to risk her to the ocean's wrath before I was certain she was strong enough. Perhaps then I would take her and we would try to 'escape' somewhere.

And then again, perhaps not.

Perhaps I am still too selfish to share him in those rare moments where I know his attention will be fixated on me. Perhaps I am not ready to yield those precious few moments when I am wanted.

I hunger for you, he murmurs, and a shiver skates along my spine as I bring my eyes, heavily lidded with the wanting of him, up to his face. For a moment, it is all I can do to look at him, to bask in his nearness even as a part of me wants to part my lips and take a chunk of his hide.

"Naz, go hide, darling." I murmur. There is no fear in my voice, but there is selfishness. It is only right that Nazanin has a moment to be with her father. To meet him and know him and ask him the questions she may have. But my time with him is just as scarce, and it is to me he looks now. "I'll come find you in a moment, my love."

My ears follow her progress - or lack thereof - but my gaze does not leave Garmr's. Could not, in truth, even if I had wanted it to.