It was cooler beneath the lush jungle, the trail they walked well worn. The nereid mare kept her pace sedate as they moved along, giving the boy time to investigate his new world. Nothing seemed to strike his fancy, but that wasn't much of a surprise. He'd looked too young to be interested in a diet of roughage. Still, his repeated attempts at gleaning nutrients from her hadn't produced anything yet.
His speech improved with every attempt, and a smile of appreciation grew on her pink lips. How clever her boy was! "They are fruits that grow on some of the trees here." She nodded at the palms growing among the other vegetation. "They have thick, hairy shells and soft white meat inside. I think you'll like them."
It took a little searching, but a promising tree appeared. The crown hung heavy with half-ripe nuts. The green-brown orbs clustered at the top, a tempting prize. Aquaria stretched her neck upwards, gauging the height of the tree with a wary eye. Coconuts could be tricky things. She turned to nudge the striped boy a few feet from the tree. "Stay here." She instructed. Then turned to return to the chosen palm. One sharp hind kick struck the trunk and a trio of fruits thudded into the sand around her.
She rolled them one by one to the waiting foal-cub. From there it was quick work to kick the wet husk from the shell, and to bust a hole in the brown exterior with a careful hoof. It wasn't the cleanest process, but by the end of it there was a few swallows of sweet water exposed in the shell's cup. "Drink up, I'll work on the next one."
As she bit away the husk of the next coconut, another thought began to press on her. He needed a name. She couldn't just call him "boy" or "baby" for the rest of his life. But naming a baby wasn't something she could just spit out. He was going to be stuck with this for the rest of ever. It was a lot of pressure!
Well. He didn't know he needed a name just yet. Maybe she could think about it for a couple days.
@[Halcyon]