[private] there must be something in the tide

[Rhaegor]

At first, the mare who'd stood by his side since childhood could but sob. Wracked chest, mouth locked open in agony. Though his position inhibited his vision of her in this state, Rhaegor knew. Knew the pain she felt, at least in a vicarious way; it matched the pain he felt the day he had the visions, first of her mother's brutal death and then of her own suicide.

I wanted to find you both but I--

His thoughts remain private, too painful to emit into the fabric of someone else's reality (especially hers). But that single thought unleashed a torrent of panic, one which he thought he could fend off when the time came; but his mind snags and the spiral commences.

I wanted to save her, Dawn, but I wanted to save you, more. I knew where you would come to, Dawn, I didn't know when, I just knew where and I didn't know where she would die, I wanted to save her, Dawn, I wanted to save your mother, too, Cress -- Cress, I wanted to save you! I--

His breathing came ragged the longer he allowed himself to catapult down this line of thought and he knew that for Dawn's sake, he needed to stay calm. It mattered not what he wished for. All that remained him was an aching, chasmous gratitude for the fact that he'd been able to avert at least one fate this day.

The rhythm of Dawn's breathing as it steadied reinforced the stallion's own attempt to regain some semblance of calm.

In...
Out...
In...
Out...
In...
Out...

Everything felt quiet, then.

Empty.

"Hhhh..." The annunciation of his open-mouthed inhale exhausted him/left him. "Let's get out of the water, Dawny," He whispered. There seemed to be no other sound in the world except their breathing. "Let's go lie down in the shade. I'll hold you close."

He nudged his head, hoping that his desolate best friend would comply with his request despite its apparent impossibility as they stood there, exhausted beyond comprehension.

.

@[Dawn]