[private] take a look in the mirror

[Altissima]

One day, or maybe even later tonight, Altissima would like to hear his stories (the ones that don’t involve other mares, anyway). A practical part of her brain reminds her that he is injured, however imaginative she might get they shouldn’t move very much. She likes the idea of pressing close to him, listening as his deep voice tells her his history. Just the simple imagining of such a simple, casual moment between them is it’s own thrill - something she's never known. His touch becomes a little more real, more present, and when a light kiss is brushed against her cheek this wild, fierce mare cannot stop smiling as pleasant heat races across her skin and a quiet, involuntary noise of contentment escapes her. She’s realized, though, almost as soon as she’s said that she has no rules that she does - one rule, the big one, and she’s already breaking it. She doesn’t let anyone this close, doesn’t let herself get attached to anyone. It has worked well for her in the past, she has no true heartbreak or pain to worry herself with. She is free in all senses of the word. Wanting this, wanting him, beyond tonight is so far out of her comfort zone she cannot even begin to imagine how it would work. But she believes that if they wanted to, it could. It wouldn’t have to be difficult or complicated, surely. She realizes too that if he were to break his rules more than once she would also be breaking hers. There is an undeniable thrill in his touch, his proximity, and the teasing notion that he doesn’t just want this one night. That maybe there is something they agree on, the one thing that could level them both if they didn’t. Altissima wrestles with the feeling that tries to tell her she wants to run, wants to stop this before it goes any further. As if it is not already too late for her. She has feelings for him, this aggravating knight, and no amount of space will change that. It scares her so much, that truth, and she wonders if he can hear how rapidly her heart is pounding at the mixture of fear and excitement flooding her veins. There is a moment where she hesitates, the point before jumping off the cliff. And she can only hope the way he says her name is an indication that she will not be jumping alone. Doubt starts off her reply, though, and it is what inspires the nerves that send a tremble through her legs. “If that were true…” Altissima is so breathless she barely recognizes her own voice. She moves beneath his wing, creating a little space between their bodies but it is just to allow her enough angle to meet his muzzle with her own. So she can brush against it softly before moving to his cheek as she says “Then you can break them as much and as often as you’d like, Tarian.” And there it is - her rule broken - and she presses her own kiss to his skin as she does it.

artwork by cal

@Tarian