Quand on n'a que l'amour - any

[Levi]

“It is.” She nods and smiles, sincerity ringing in her clear bright voice. She seems to be a little older than him (not by much) and a complete stranger too, but he can't help but feel a little charmed by her sparkling eyes.  During the last few months, anytime he had met with another horse the conversation which followed had been tense and weighty. He was beginning to think himself incapable of what came so easily to others; the ability to relax and have a non agresive convorsation. 

"... have you ever been up the volcano?"  Her words cause him to look to the rumbling black beast at the center of their home, bring back memories of playing at the foot of the volcano with his twin. They had never made it up very far before their mother has stepped in and guided them elsewhere. The jagged stones between lava streams did not make a suitable playground for foals. 

"I was going to do that last..." he begins to say, his gaze lingering on the massive structure of stone and lava. the hike up the volcano was to be the final phase of his self-appointed quest. Levi had imagined himself making the ascent and then, looking over all of Tephra from this vantage point, knowing he walked over every piece of land his eyes could see.

But here, he seems to have stumbled across a willing companion. She smells of wildflowers, salt, and brimstone - of Tephra. She probably knew this island as well as he did, and she seemed to like him for some reason... so why not give being diplomatic a try. 

"But forget it," Exploring with someone else would break the tedium of his day if nothing else.  

He smiles then, a natural smile, the friendliest thing he had done since returning to his father's kingdom. "Let's go now."  With that, his feathered legs are moving again as he trots towards the volcano, his mismatched eyes already working to pick out a suitable route to climb. 

Levi

so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.