tangerine
face to the sun
Soon they are at the rocky base of the volcano. Golden ears tipped with black prick with heightened interest in their surroundings, as she tries to anticipate what she will see. Tangerine looks up at the steep walls of volcanic stone for only a moment and that’s all it takes for Warrick to disappear. But she catches a wisp of his tail as it vanishes into a crack in the mountains side, the ringing of his hooves beckoning her to follow.
She takes a few trotting steps to catch up, diving into the gloom after him without hesitation.
The passage is dark and narrow- her body responds with a small dose of adrenaline. They seem to be spiraling down into the belly of the volcano. Her hooves struggle to step true on the stone below her and she walks slowly, carefully. Her muzzle periodically bumps Warrick’s flank to help her stay to the middle of the underground path, although this is mostly unnecessary - the echo of his steps on the stone would have been enough to guide her.
The journey by itself is exciting, so she stops trying to guess at what will be waiting at the end. “Stay close.” He whispers and she happily accommodates. Soon there is a glow ahead.
With the light his form comes back into view; the silhouette of his delicate ears makes her long to kiss him again. But the ground is changing, becoming softer, yielding. And she looks ahead to see where he has brought her.
Oh, she is not disappointed.
Before her is one of nature’s cathedrals, exquisite and wild. “This is incredible, I had no idea…” but her whisper falls short, as not to disturb the sanctity of the place. The grotto is a perfect scantuary. Warm, but not smothering. Restful, yet filled with small sounds and soft light. Tang looks up to see the heavy moon gazing down on them, and her awestruck look turns into a girlish smile. What a gift he has given her. “I had never dreamed of seeing such places as you have shown me.” Her love and gratitude fills her voice with a sort of reverence. She thinks of the endless ocean, the tropical world of Tephra, and the feelings he has awoken in her. Feelings deeper than bodily yearning.
Lurking in the back of her mind, Tang worries she is letting herself be captured by Warrick. Why can’t you just relax and enjoy this? She isn’t ready to give someone such power over her. But she wants to, and that scares her. She must leave like she has always planned on, she needs some space, even if she doesn’t want it.
But she won’t leave without first knowing she will see him again. The darkness that crossed her eyes, only for a second, vanishes as she turns to meet his steady gaze. His eyes appear almost silver in the moonlight.
“I think I’m going to miss you Warrick.” That’s an understatement, but she doesn’t want to intimidate him after her previous misstep – even if he has given her all the signs that he isn’t bothered by it. “tell me when we will see each other again and I will be much happier” She says this with a light tone, not wanting to plunge them into somber parting words, but to talk about a happy reunion in the future. “maybe someplace neither of us has been before! Or you could always come and see me in The Lake.” She smiles at him, hoping he readily agrees to see her in the fall. “You know, when you decide you need to stretch your legs” she adds playfully.
@[Warrick]