Life returned to the striped child in a flurry of flailing paws. Her head jerked back to evade the broad pads that batted at the air, only to drop back down and resume the careful grooming.
He--and now that she was close enough to tell, it was definitely a he-- wiggled and began to rumble strangely as she continued her ministrations. What a funny creature. She watched as the fluffy padded feet seemed to press against the air in response to her touch, the tips of little claws peeking through the pale fur. Those gave her pause. Sharp little claws, predatory things. Still, little and helpless things couldn't help what they were. She couldn't walk away now that she had come upon him.
She watched in fascination as the odd, fluffy little creature managed to roll over amid a scattering of sand. Experimental sounds, little growls and mutters and curious mewls, none of which made sense to the pearl mare. Still, they were kind of cute. Her nose pressed softly against the thick-furred back of the baby, a light support as he found his feet. Only to stiffen as the sounds coming from the funny jaws began to grow coherent.
"Oh, sweet seafoam," she muttered, eyes widening as she felt him nudge and nuzzle beneath her. "Seabean, I know what you're looking for and I haven't-" her breath caught as he found his mark. "I haven't got that. You mama probably does, if we can find her..." She blinked out at the water, in the direction she knew he must have been carried from. This foal-thing didn't seem to have been born on the island. Which meant he only could have come from the mainland.
How many mares lived on the mainland? How many of them had babies now? One was missing her little one now. Or... Maybe she wasn't. This was an unconventional child, to say the least. An awful thought occurred to the seamare. A horrible, gut-wrenching idea. Had he been cast to the waters intentionally?
No baby deserved that. She had found him on her shores, and maybe that was meant to be. The ocean had given her many gifts overb the years, her cove was filled with shells and bits of coral that had caught her eye. This was no pretty trinket on the beach. This was a living, breathing, hungry baby. But he smelled of nothing but the sea. Had no trace of kingdom or family odor she could use to find his parents. Who might not even want him in the first place.
That settled it, in her mind. She sighed, and returned to the job of cleaning the salt from his varigated coat. He was her latest gift from the sea, washed ashore for her to find. Beautiful, and clearly very strong. "I guess you can stay. For a while. While I figure out what to do with you." She smiled, a quiet, secret place in her heart filling with a sweet contentment.
@[Halcyon]