01-30-2018, 04:58 PM
It was a new world. Bigger every day, the boundaries that must exist had yet to be found. He knew very little, what he was sure of was definite. He was a horse (usually). Mama was also a horse (always). And they had been walking ever since he was born. At least, that's how it felt. Put out by her lack of success in finding them a travelling companion, she had failed to make it to Hyaline before he had decided to make his appearance. Somewhere between a river and a forest, stumbling silently though lands that did not belong to them, he could sense Mama's relief once they crossed some invisible barrier that meant they had come close to the end of their journey. Blinking up at her dark and light shape, he was glad. They'd been walking forever, and he was tired. A small voice at the back of his mind recognized the desire to curl up in a little ball, to sleep for as long as he could. A soft black nose nudged into his rump. Mama wanted them to keep going. With a little sigh, the cream and pale gold child stepped forward again, finding purchase with his tiny flinted hooves.
"We're almost there. Just a little longer, my dear, and you can sleep." Mama's voice was soft, and carried it's own note of exhaustion, but firm in meaning. He trailed along in her wake obediently. At last, as the afternoon's light began to glow with the warmth of dusk, they arrived. The edge of a vast lake glittered before the pair, flaming orange with the early evening's sun. They had crossed a river, and several streams to make it here, but this was the single largest body of water the colt had ever seen in all of his week of existence. Another nudge, he'd stopped to take it in, but they had to find a safe place to rest. Picking up his feet more lively now, he trotted to keep pace. Mama brought them to a rest at the edge of the water, stopping to drop her head to it's surface. For a second, he watched the muscles of her throat work to swallow. It made him remember his own thirst. The pale child dipped beneath his mother's barrel, seeking the nourishment he knew he'd find there. Tickaani twitched slightly, still unused to the sensation of being nursed from, but let him continue. In greedy gulps, he pulled the milk from her, until his hunger abated and sleepiness took it's place. White droplets clung to his lips as he let himself be herded a little ways from the lake shore, at last nestling into a bed of overgrown sweetgrass. The colt drifted off to sleep, feeling his mother's practical mouth licking the dust of traveling from his downy coat. He dreamed of milk and mother and stalking errant leaves, shadowed figures talking in hushed tones at the edge of his mind.
Tick stood over his tiny form, watching as his ribs moved up and down in gentle sleep. One ear twitched, tickled by a bent blade of grass. He was beautiful, and she was pleased with him. Alert in the falling twilight, she was looking forward to meeting those she had met before, to show off her new child. To rest for a while.
"We're almost there. Just a little longer, my dear, and you can sleep." Mama's voice was soft, and carried it's own note of exhaustion, but firm in meaning. He trailed along in her wake obediently. At last, as the afternoon's light began to glow with the warmth of dusk, they arrived. The edge of a vast lake glittered before the pair, flaming orange with the early evening's sun. They had crossed a river, and several streams to make it here, but this was the single largest body of water the colt had ever seen in all of his week of existence. Another nudge, he'd stopped to take it in, but they had to find a safe place to rest. Picking up his feet more lively now, he trotted to keep pace. Mama brought them to a rest at the edge of the water, stopping to drop her head to it's surface. For a second, he watched the muscles of her throat work to swallow. It made him remember his own thirst. The pale child dipped beneath his mother's barrel, seeking the nourishment he knew he'd find there. Tickaani twitched slightly, still unused to the sensation of being nursed from, but let him continue. In greedy gulps, he pulled the milk from her, until his hunger abated and sleepiness took it's place. White droplets clung to his lips as he let himself be herded a little ways from the lake shore, at last nestling into a bed of overgrown sweetgrass. The colt drifted off to sleep, feeling his mother's practical mouth licking the dust of traveling from his downy coat. He dreamed of milk and mother and stalking errant leaves, shadowed figures talking in hushed tones at the edge of his mind.
Tick stood over his tiny form, watching as his ribs moved up and down in gentle sleep. One ear twitched, tickled by a bent blade of grass. He was beautiful, and she was pleased with him. Alert in the falling twilight, she was looking forward to meeting those she had met before, to show off her new child. To rest for a while.