CoalDare

 

 

A New Start

One on one, Vineda had walked each of the new bonded through some of the lands of her home. She'd listened, spoken, answered questions, pondered, and simply enjoyed the company of her companion. For she had given them a choice. She could have it no other way, and nor could they, she knew.  

 

Now he could think more clearly. Coal looked with what one would assume was a brooding, defiant look at the dark and glassy surface of the water. Mane and tail hung heavily, blending bright yellow and light blue hues and dripping water down his gray coat. He'd just finished swimming from one end of this vast lake to the other, and he was pumped. You wouldn't know it to look at him, of course. The chalky stallion snorted and sidled, tossing his head to fix his forelock around the lavender horn hidden there. Despite the slightly cold bite to the air, slender legs folded to lower him to the pebbled beach. Such turmoil was like his own lake; calm and glassy on the exterior, with deadly swirling currents deceptively hidden below.

 

There were parts of him missing still, and he could not even remember what they were. It was a strange mix of emotions to be sure.The human girl-child left the rock she'd been perched on and approached, also lowering herself to the ground. She sat beside Coal, listening to the mantra of tiny waves slapping the shore and slowly humming a tune. Fingers wove deftly through the mane, smoothing tangles out with care in a gesture of a friend's love and support. A sideways glance, a lowering of his grey head... these were the things that he used to acknowledge her. She knew he worked through things in his own way. He appreciated the room she gave him, accepted her because of it. She might understand things he did not, but he was grateful that she let him discover things in his own way and time. Her support was that of a friend rather than a teacher... just the thing he needed right now.