Tangerine
In the middle of the night, I go walking in my sleep
The torrent of emotion which racks her body is powerful, but it is brief. Quickly, Tang grows embarrassed by the outpouring, although it was beyond her control, and she raises her chin back to the level of the other. Her face is damp and there are sticks and leaves tangled in her once luxurious mane, but somewhere deep inside the truth of the other woman's words resonate.
From anyone else, Cordis's short sentence would have enraged her, closed her off, but she remains supple and weak before the stranger - the stranger who she shares more in common with than any of her friends or lovers. The mares measured words lend her strength.
Tang's mind quiets, but the peace is soon filled with questions and her mouth opens to ask them in a hurried stream.
How do go on, when everyone smiles and says 'nice to meet you'? Do you have to pretend it never happened to be happy again? Is happiness beyond our reach?
But the question which bubbles to the top is not the one she would have asked if she were thinking clearly, but it is the most important to her.
"Did you ever love again?" She draws a breath, the first one since her sobs had ceased.
Were you ever able to feel alright after he found you unworthy?
The painted mare didn't want to live outside the gates of the world forever, flitting away from any chance of interaction like a songbird, terrified of seeing someone she knew - before. She wanted to feel the way she had felt before she had melded with the Super Nova, where her heartbreaks had been bittersweet and smiles came easy. Love had always been her language, but some days she struggled to love her own daughter, his daughter, and if he had taken that capability from her... well, then she didn't know if she even wanted to try and rebuild her life.
@[Cordis]