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 Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:22 pm
He felt something like embarrassment rise in him and color him behind the ears. Not leave? Now there was an idea. Her approval made him happier still. He felt like his smile could have glowed. "If you would like to lie down and get comfortable you may. Or just look around. There's a few hours of daylight left." He turned to go the tepee entrance and then went forward to stick his head in and the pull out a bushel of apples by the special handle Ehawee had made so he could carry it. He carried it back to her and set it at her feet. The reddish-yellow apples shined faintly in the receding light. "A gift for the pretty lady. Is there any other way you might be made comfortable?'
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:06 pm
Zarita could feel her cheeks becoming hot as Maj brought her the apples and asked her if there was anything she wanted. The mare wasn't sure why this stallion made her feel like a giddy little filly but she rather enjoyed the feeling. It had been months since she had been happy. Perhaps it was the way he treated her, the village that he lived in, or even just his handsome looks, but whatever it was, she loved it.
"I um, well thank you." She told him, still a little embarrassed. "I'm fine but I do appreciate your hospitality, you've been more than kind to me." Zarita continued on. "I would like to see the village a little perhaps? I haven't been in once since... since..." Her voice trailed off for a few moments and she had to pause to collect her thoughts. "Since the plague." She finished finally.
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:53 pm
His tail swished patiently as he waited and listened. Complicated little thing. She'll never tell me all that's in her head. "There is room for you here Zarita. If you should wish to stay. But no one will make you." He turned and nodded his head toward the tepees. "Come. If you stay close to me the villagers will understand and not bother you. We can watch the women make dinner. They're interesting." And he trotted toward the main fire pit.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:36 pm
Zarita silently followed the stallion to the fire pit. As they walked, she could smell all of the familiar scents that she used to know. Not too far off she could hear the cries of children laughing and playing amongst each other. A few yards in another direction, the smell of the days hunt wafted towards her. She wrinkled her nose a little in disgust at the smell, but then again she never was one to eat meat. Finally, as they neared the fire, she could feel the warmth coming from the flames and she felt a sense of calm crawl into her and filled her with joy. Happily, the mare gave a little sigh of satisfaction. Oh how she had missed the sounds and smells of a village!
This one was perhaps foreign to her, but the undertone was just the same. Carefully, she looked over at Maj. The light of the fire danced across his handsome face and the mare really looked at him for the first time. Perhaps it was her surroundings, perhaps she was just tired, or maybe she just got tired of being lonely. Whatever it was that caused her to do what she did next, she secretly thanked. Before she could rethink her actions, the mare reached out and buried her head into the stallions warm neck in a silent hug. "Thank you Maj." She whispered to him. "You've done so much for me without even knowing." She continued on.
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Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:55 pm
She seemed to like the village as he lead her through it and that made him smile. They were simple people but never without humor or interest. They genuinely cared about him and each other. And so, when they were finally standing to one side of the main pit he let his mind wander and he was smiling at the fairly normal happy scene.
When she touched him he froze. He'd not only had he not been expecting the contact but from her it seemed doubly bizarre. She hadn't seemed like she'd wanted anything but the bird touching her. Not that he hadn't envied the bird...secretly. "Zarita. What I did I would do for anyone that seemed to need it. I don't have to know you to see the sadness in your eyes." Still he nuzzled her back and earned a whistle from Ehawee who had been watching from the corner of her eye. He colored and pulled away. "You can find your way back to the paddock? I need a drink." And he trotted off in the direction of their stream.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:37 pm
Zarita immediately flushed as the stallion pulled away and as Ehawee whistled. How could she have been so stupid? Sure it was just a friendly hug, but had she felt something else for him other then gratitude? The mare shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. No, that couldn't be it. She hadn't allowed anyone into her heart since Alexander and her girl. It didn't seem as if there could be anymore room in the tiny little thing.
Embarrassed, she nodded to Majesty and watched as he trotted off. She hadn't meant to upset him and she certainly hoped that she hadn't offended him or overstayed her welcome. The mare sighed and moved off into the direction of the paddock. It would be sad to leave this place, but if she had upset Maj she didn't think that she could stay. At least not past tonight.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:00 pm
Maj kicked a rock into the stream before tipping his head in for a long drink. I'm stupid. Pretty lady pops out of nowhere and I loose my head. He snorted as he brought his head up to see his friend coming towards him.
Wee reached out a hand and rubbed at his wet muzzle. "I'm sorry my friend. I didn't mean to upset you two. I thought...perhaps this is one of those times I shouldn't try to read your mind. I shouldn't meddle. Especially where your heart is concerned." She sighed and rubbed a few more water droplets off. "Go on. She might need you." And she swatted his neck to make him move.
Maj had merely watched her with a serious expression on his face. Sometimes he was reminded that she was human and he was a horse. He couldn't tell what else she was thinking and didn't want to. He rubbed at her cheek with the side of his nose and trotted off towards his little piece of the village.
"Lady?" He addressed Zarita when he got close. "What would you like? I don't know if I should stay here to talk and sleep close to you or if I should find a quiet spot elsewhere."
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 1:22 pm
Zarita's ears perked at the sound of Maj's voice. Part of her wanted to tell him to go away and leave her be, and the softer part wanted to tell him to stay. It felt as if her mind and heart were torn in two, each wanting different things and she was at a loss, not knowing which to listen to. All of these knew feelings that she had experienced were doing something to her. She didn't know if it was being back in a village for the first time since her girl died that had her feeling so many new emotions, or if she was simply exhausted from her journey. Whatever it was, it annoyed her and she hated not being in control.
Finally, she turned to the stallion and spoke. "It is your home and you may do what you please. I am merely a guest and I will leave you as soon as you wish. I appreciate your kindness thus far and will not bother you any further. I only ask for a place to rest tonight and I will be on my way in the morning." She knew she was putting up a wall again, but she did not know any other way to be. It was in her best interest to protect her heart and she would not put herself out there only to be shot down again.
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 7:30 pm
Ouch. That hurt. But perhaps he'd deserved that...or maybe not. He'd been nothing if not welcoming. Embarrassed too true, but not enough to warrant such a cold brush off. "Zarita. If you were merely a guest you would not be standing in my personal paddock, eating my apples and rubbing up against my belongings. I could have introduced you to the other horses but I didn't." He took at deep breath and wondered if he should be blunt. Hed known her so shortly but he knew he wasn't prepared for her to leave yet. "If I demand you stay so I may get to know you, will you? Is that what it takes for you to understand I like you?" He turned and huffed and them began to pace. "The other horses think I'm nuts. What I have with Wee is not something they seem to understand. Hell even I don't understand it sometimes, all I know is that she's my best friend and I'd do anything for her. But she's human. Not a soquilli. I can't...I can't be the same thing to her as I could to another Soquilli." He looked up at her plaintively, surprised at all the things that had just come out of his mouth. Before this moment he'd thought himself happy. But clearly he wasn't. Clearly a part of him was lonely and aching for something more. "I think I'm lonely. I think I might need another to talk to." He walked closer and tried to catch her eyes, hoping she'd look directly into his, so he could ask her a question that surprised even him. "Please stay Zarita. Please?"
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 1:55 pm
The little mare was taken aback by the stallion's words and immediately felt ashamed. She had been harsh with him and he had done nothing to deserve what she had said. Sure she might have been a little hurt, but she always found a reason to drive others away and she was tired of it. She was tired of being alone and never having anyone to talk to other then Alex.
Slowly, the mare forced herself to raise her head and look into Majesty's eyes, and what she saw made her want to blush. This stallion really appeared to like her, it was something that she was not quite used to. Here he was spilling his heart out and showing her nothing but kindness, and she had been nothing but rude to him.
"Of course I'll stay." She said quietly, hoping that perhaps they could simply forget what she had said before. "I... I'm just not really used to company. I've been alone for so long that I think I've become lonely too and I don't know how to be any other way."
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 2:35 pm
For whatever reason, Maj suddenly wanted to giggle like a schoolgirl. But instead, in an uncharacteristic show of affection he stuffed his muzzle forward and nuzzled her face and her neck. "Thank you. Thank you. Oh Zarita you won't be sorry. Everyone will love you." He danced in place then settled and maneuvered his body into the shelter next to hers.
The sun had long since gone down and he knew the village would be up early. While he wasn't expected to help with the morning chores, he did like to. Ehawee often needed help caring and lifting and he liked being useful. "Sleep beside me Zarita?" He rubbed her with his nose and grinned. Sometimes things did change in a day. "The village will wake early like it always does. You can watch if you want or sleep some more but I will want to help so I will need my rest. You may wander and be awake if you please but please stay close?" He reached behind himself to grab the blanket that was hanging on the rail. He let is drape over both of their backs, just in case she wanted some warmth.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 3:52 pm
Zarita felt herself smiling at Maj's response. He seemed utterly happy that she had agreed to stay and she herself was definitely glad that she had agreed. It seemed that she had maybe even found a temporary home here, and the thought made her grin even more. It had been so long since she had had anywhere that she could call home, and thought made her happy.
The little mare returned the stallion's nuzzle and moved in closer to him to share the blanket. She wanted to blush at first, but it just seemed so... right to be next to him. "I would love to help out." She told him. "Besides, if I'm going to be staying then I should at least pull my own weight around here." She continued on. Being back in a village would be good to her. It reminded her of her old one and it brought back the old Zarita, the less bitter and nicer mare in her. She liked it.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:06 pm
It had been several weeks and Zarita seemed to have adjusted well to village life. Ehawee liked her and Ma loved having someone to talk to and spend the time he wasn't working with. The rest of the village even seemed to like the mare and would pat and scratch her if she was doing a good job. The little ones seemed to like Zarita especially and would play and laugh around her. It was beautiful and quaint and made Maj's heart swell to think about it. She seemed perfectly suited to the village and his life.
Maj was out in a grove pacing and staring at a yellow rose. She'd been with him such a short time but he knew he loved her. Had loved her almost from the moment he'd seen her over the rise. He knew her and that damn bird of hers, who had finally at least come to trust him not to hurt her, had to be with him forever. He snatched the rose cleanly off it's stem and went to find his Zarita.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:27 pm
The little mare pranced as she made her way to the stream. Life in the village had been wonderful over the last few weeks and she didn't think she could ever leave this place. Even her stubborn little bird Alexander had seemed to warm up to the stallion. Poor Maj, he'd just be stuck with her. She giggled to herself as she neared the little stream. Helping out the village was one of the few ways that the mare felt she could pay them back for all of their kindness. It was also refreshing and made her happy to be able to contribute to the work.
Zarita carefully lowered the water into the stream and allowed it to fill. It was awkward to hold it, but she was beginning to get better at it. Just a couple more trips and the village should be good for the day. But of course she'd always be happy to fetch some more if they needed. Still filling the bucket, the little mare happily hummed to herself as her little bird flitted around.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:42 pm
He found her fetching water and stopped to quietly watch her. She took such pride in her place in the village. She made him smile and he knew he couldn't let her leave. He waited until she'd filled the bucket and was walking back with it to follow her. Knowing his place, he knew the water might well be more important that his confession of love. Besides, he'd want to steal her to some place more private before her did it.
He waited at she poured the water into it's container before addressing her. "Zarita. I have a present!" He held out the flowed and nuzzled her flank. "Can I steal you for a little while?" He smiled mischievously. "The water can wait for a bit?"
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