[PRP] Summer sun burning away bad memories (Esta & Tregaran)

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It was a beautiful summer day, even by Esta's standards, with enough clouds to shield her pale hide from the sun's rays. All around, the world was awash with intense color, not the least of which were the brick red markings of the usdia stallion standing just a foot or so away, anxiously looking for her approval. She smiled at him.

It was thanks to Tregaran that she could even stand here and appreciate the beauty of this place. When he had found her, alone and hysterical in the snow, he had stayed by her side, nursing and guiding her back to health and sanity. He had showed her that there was still simple goodness in the world, and that not everything was to be feared.  

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Tregaran watched the white mare with caring eyes. She'd recovered admirably from when he'd first stumbled onto her - literally - but there were still shadows. Even so, she was beautiful. Her white hide sparkled, like a cloud brought to earth and her green eyes matched the vivid greenery around them both.

"Today is as beautiful as you are," he told the mare, careful not to get too close to her. Even after several months, she was still uncomfortable having anyone near her, and he would respect that comfort zone.  

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Esta smiled at the complement. "You're so sweet to me," she told him softly. She'd have accused him of lying, but the mare had discovered weeks ago when Tregaran first started talking to her like that that he had no concept of lying. Indeed, he'd been so innocent, unable to conceive that anyone would want to tell an untruth. It had been sad to try and explain the concept to him.

Perhaps that was why she didn't mind his need to help her. It wasn't that she hadn't needed his help - she had - but anyone else she would have tried to get rid of by now. Tregaran though, with his naivete and simplicity, was simply the most trustworthy creature she'd ever met. He was so transparent and caring that she couldn't help trusting him.  

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"That doesn't make it any less true," the stallion wheedled. "Why shouldn't I be sweet to you though?" He again reminded himself to not take a step closer unless if Esta stepped first.

However...this was as good an opportunity as any for what he'd been wanting to bring up...

"Esta?"  

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Esta surprised herself by giggling. "Because...because it's silly!" she answered. Only Tregaran could make her act as silly as a filly, she'd found.

But unless if she missed her guess, the conversation was taking a turn for the serious and possibly lifechanging. "What is it, Tregaran?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice as her smile vanished like water into the desert.  

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"I..." Tregaran swallowed heavily. He'd been hoping, planning for this moment for days and now he had the opportunity, and it was so much harder than he'd ever imagined.

He looked away to focus his thoughts but then remembered that Esta might think he was trying to hide something. So he turned back to face her, look right into her green eyes...

Those eyes, with their shadow of pain, were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever looked into. "Esta, I love you," he whispered to the face behind them.  

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Esta gaped at her companion, green eyes riveted to yellow. Not in her wildest dreams had she imagined hearing those words directed at her and she found herself gaping in astonishment. Tregaran...loved her? Admittedly, he was very solicitious of her needs, very careful of her likes and dislikes...but love?

"I...don't understand..." she stumbled over the words, her thoughts swirling madly around and she lowered her gaze in confusion.  

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"I know it...seems sudden," Tregaran admitted, "but I think I've loved you since I found you crying in the snow that day." He too looked down at the ground, but only to focus his thoughts and his heart.

"I love your scaley white hide, I love your green eyes. I love how there's something tragic in your past that you feel you can't share with me, and I love your strength for not letting it consume you utterly. I love how surprised you are when I make you smile and I love your smile too. Esta," the stallion paused to catch his breath, "I love you so much that I don't want to spend a day without you for the rest of my life."

He stopped then, panting with the strength of his emotions and the mass of words he'd said. Now...it was her turn. Either to accept or reject him. His heart quivered as he waited to find out which.  

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Esta was stunned. She'd never entertained the possibility of love in her future...it had just been a dark tunnel leading to the pitch black of her death at the skinwalker's teeth. She'd never thought that there could be anything good with that at the end.

And yet here was Tregaran, who knew nothing of that, and who loved her for who she was, even if she was not...what she would have been. Who knew that there was some dark secret she wasn't sharing, and loved her despite it. Who wanted for them to spend the rest of their lives together.

She knew what she should do. She should leave now. Cut this off before he got himself too hurt. Leave now before he found out what she was keeping from him.

And yet...and yet she wanted it too. Wanted the bright picture of the world that he offered. And maybe, maybe that tugging she felt in her own heart was more than just need and comfort.

Esta looked up at the stallion. "I...don't know if love is what I feel for you, but I don't want to leave you. Not yet." Impulsively she stepped closer, until she could feel his breath on her hide. "But I will stay with you as long as I can," she promised, nuzzling the other usdia in a display of affection she dimly remembered her father showing her mother, many long years ago.  

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Tregaran had been truly shocked when Esta approached him so closely. Even more so when she actually began nuzzling him. He protectively embraced her neck with his, resting his jaw on her back.

"That's all I'm asking," the stallion replied. "To stay with you as long as the gods allow us to be together. Thank you, Esta."  

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When Tregaran returned her embrace, Esta stiffened. But then she realized that he truly meant her no harm. That, like with her dimly remembered parents, this was a gesture of love. She forced herself to relax, to feel how his stance was protective over her even now, to feel how much he loved her.

"Thank you, Tregaran," she whispered in reply, small tears of joy trickling down her face.