12-21-2016, 12:19 PM
Azar
It was almost a restful sleep. She could almost imagine the large black stallion curled around her, keeping her warm and safe. So she didn't really wake to the tremble that passed over her, shivering in the absence of her warm wings. Somewhere in her drowsy mind, she slowly realized the forest creatures had gone silent. They had accepted her, small and harmless little thing that she was, and ignored her presence in their forest. Now something larger must be near.
She froze, little head still tucked to her body, and listened. There was the lumbering of another horse around, a heavy grown-up, but it wasn't Siberian. There were no patterns of sniff-tap-sniff that the blind stallion used to find his way. So she curled tighter and hoped she would go unnoticed. It seemed to work for a while, the sound of tracking moved away from her. She settled into her success at being overlooked, and with a light drizzle pattering the canopy above, she was swiftly lulled back into sleep.
She always listened first, so cautious and quiet. She heard nothing when she was pulled from her little snooze, confused at what had awakened her. It was silent again, or perhaps it was silent still. Only a gentle rain tapping at the leaves above. Carefully, she opened her eyes. A man's face greeted her not far away, lowered to the ground at her level. Calm and maybe friendly, but also strong-looking. Not a black like Siberian, but nearly the opposite. Looking right at her. She didn't move as she stared back blankly. Would she dream of a complete stranger? She must still be asleep. Just a weird dream.
But he didn't vanish like a ghost. Even when she blinked, there he still was. Watching her expectantly. Someone whispered over his shoulder, "should I wake her? We don't want to startle her," and Azar realized he might have asked her something. And also that he wasn't alone. There were more of them. She wanted to peek over his shoulder at who the other speaker might be, his mate maybe. But she was trapped in his gaze now, blue-violet eyes hiding the growing unease chilling her. Her father would come soon. He wouldn't stay gone so long, right?
She sat up carefully, aware that she would not be overlooked after all. Each movement was slow, like a hare afraid to attract attention to itself. She breathed slow, trying to keep her heartbeat from racing off without her, as she pressed more firmly against the tree behind her. Wide, doe-eyes watched him cautiously, silent and unsure, as rain fell a little heavier and slid down her little horn. Were they a threat? How would she manage to escape them?