Despite the evaporation of her inexplicable elation, Djinni is as good-natured as always when she hears the sound of approaching hooves, smiling before she even sees who it is. To be this far in to Sylva and not have been accosted by a guard it must be a resident, and she is pleased to see that it is young Luster.
There's confusion on the girl's blue face, and Djinni laughs softly and sheds her grey cloak to return to her natural pied grullo.
"Yes, Luster." She says with a toss of her newly frosted mane. "It's still me." From time to time she forgets that others aren't always familiar with her whimsy, but she can't really expect them to be. She had spent a good deal of time hiding her gifts after all, and even now tends to keep most of herself concealed. It is not that she doesn't trust Luster - the girl is sweet and gentle, reminding Djinni greatly of her younger siblings - but rather that old habits die very hard. She's of a mind to do something for the girl (something small, something with no strings, something that Luster wants), and is reaching out to greet her when she is distracted by the turn of Luster's gaze.
Djinni follows it (as best she can), craning her neck to look at her embarrassingly wide barrel. She has been eating a lot lately, but it's been a while since she's actually looked at herself. A bit of shame flickers across her face, coupled with the embarrassment that her weight gain is so obvious even polite Luster feels she must point it out.
Djinni has always assumed Luster is much like Karaugh to Stillwater, that the black stallion dallies with them the way that men in power always tend to dally with beautiful women. Luster is a bit young - young enough to quell any interest Djinni might have had - but she cannot blame the man. She is quite lovely, after all, if you liked the perfect, angelic, and underage type.Who what the black horse did in his spare time had never been of any interest to the grullo mare (as long as he takes care of her kingdom responsibilities) and as winter settles into Sylva she has simply refused to think about him long enough to wonder what else he is doing.
Djinni catches the unsurprising trace of Stillwater on Luster's skin as the girl presses a touch to her belly, but the sensation in her stomach is not something she had expected. An emotional reaction she could have understood (as unexpected as it would be), but the pang is sharp and inexplicable.
The realization of what the pain had been comes only at Luster's words of congratulations.
A kick.
From a child.
From her child.
"Goddammit Stillwater." She breathes, barely loud enough for Luster to hear from where she stands companionably beside her. The grullo mare's stomach is trying to crawl out of her throat, her heart is flying; she waivers between exploding where she stands and finding Stillwater and murdering him before she explodes.
Djinni has not been listening to Luster's kind words, but she forces herself back to the conversation, apologizing for her outburst before she's really had time to read the blue mare's reaction to it.
"I'm sorry Luster," she says as she reaches out to press a friendly muzzle to the mare's neck, "That's probably not the reaction you were expecting." Djinni tries to smile, but it comes out crooked - sad - instead, and she chatters on. "You'd think a queen and her consort would be happy but...I didn't...I wasn't...we weren't planning on having children."
Djinni has never wanted children.
They cry, they are needy, they're terrible conversationalists, and most of them are ugly.
She's always been careful to wish away the consequences of her dalliances, but she had not. She'd wished away the memory of Stillwater instead, shortly before meeting Luster for the first time those months ago. The window for wishing had passed before she'd remembered, and since then she's done everything she can to push the black stallion from her mind. And for good reason, too; his dark face rises unbidden in an instant, bringing with it the irrational elation from earlier.
They do say love gives the whole world a rosy tint.
There's confusion on the girl's blue face, and Djinni laughs softly and sheds her grey cloak to return to her natural pied grullo.
"Yes, Luster." She says with a toss of her newly frosted mane. "It's still me." From time to time she forgets that others aren't always familiar with her whimsy, but she can't really expect them to be. She had spent a good deal of time hiding her gifts after all, and even now tends to keep most of herself concealed. It is not that she doesn't trust Luster - the girl is sweet and gentle, reminding Djinni greatly of her younger siblings - but rather that old habits die very hard. She's of a mind to do something for the girl (something small, something with no strings, something that Luster wants), and is reaching out to greet her when she is distracted by the turn of Luster's gaze.
Djinni follows it (as best she can), craning her neck to look at her embarrassingly wide barrel. She has been eating a lot lately, but it's been a while since she's actually looked at herself. A bit of shame flickers across her face, coupled with the embarrassment that her weight gain is so obvious even polite Luster feels she must point it out.
Djinni has always assumed Luster is much like Karaugh to Stillwater, that the black stallion dallies with them the way that men in power always tend to dally with beautiful women. Luster is a bit young - young enough to quell any interest Djinni might have had - but she cannot blame the man. She is quite lovely, after all, if you liked the perfect, angelic, and underage type.
Djinni catches the unsurprising trace of Stillwater on Luster's skin as the girl presses a touch to her belly, but the sensation in her stomach is not something she had expected. An emotional reaction she could have understood (as unexpected as it would be), but the pang is sharp and inexplicable.
The realization of what the pain had been comes only at Luster's words of congratulations.
A kick.
From a child.
From her child.
"Goddammit Stillwater." She breathes, barely loud enough for Luster to hear from where she stands companionably beside her. The grullo mare's stomach is trying to crawl out of her throat, her heart is flying; she waivers between exploding where she stands and finding Stillwater and murdering him before she explodes.
Djinni has not been listening to Luster's kind words, but she forces herself back to the conversation, apologizing for her outburst before she's really had time to read the blue mare's reaction to it.
"I'm sorry Luster," she says as she reaches out to press a friendly muzzle to the mare's neck, "That's probably not the reaction you were expecting." Djinni tries to smile, but it comes out crooked - sad - instead, and she chatters on. "You'd think a queen and her consort would be happy but...I didn't...I wasn't...we weren't planning on having children."
Djinni has never wanted children.
They cry, they are needy, they're terrible conversationalists, and most of them are ugly.
She's always been careful to wish away the consequences of her dalliances, but she had not. She'd wished away the memory of Stillwater instead, shortly before meeting Luster for the first time those months ago. The window for wishing had passed before she'd remembered, and since then she's done everything she can to push the black stallion from her mind. And for good reason, too; his dark face rises unbidden in an instant, bringing with it the irrational elation from earlier.
They do say love gives the whole world a rosy tint.
D J I N N I
genie | rose gold tobiano dun | trickster