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I had expected something extreme. Mares here always seemed to be acting in extremes, loudly and confidently asserting their superiority and vast knowledge, or their foolish goodwill, or their petty and ugly hatred for one another. In the moments after my unexplained attempt at comfort and Onni's response, my mind ran rampant with anticipated responses. Crying seemed most likely, some utter breakdown and the need to voice her pain. I could already envision her explosion of emotion, the story pouring out between sobs- The unicorns came back! My family is gone! I didn't fight, I ran like a coward, and now I have nobody left... It sounded suspiciously like my own.
The other likely option, I reasoned, was anger or disgust. This I would have been more comfortable with, for this would have been a stallion's reaction. After all, it was her pain- what kind of moron did I think I was, to try and help? We weren't friends, and I didn't really know anything about what she'd been through. How self-centered was I to think I could possibly understand? These words and more seemed plausible to fall from her soft pink lips, though the more I thought about it, the more the possibility waned. Onni hadn't shown any aggression toward me yet. It was unlikely she'd begin now.
Of course, there was the ideal option, the one where somehow through the magic of friendship I could alleviate the pain in her heart, inspiring her to smile, laugh, and simply... fly away. Really, any scenario which involved one of us leaving seemed pretty appealing at that point.
But no. No, it was not to be, and I shifted stiffly as the girl looked down, wings stretching uneasily against my grey hide. It had been a mistake to come here at all. She had given me an out, and really, it was my own damn fault for not taking it. Would she cry? I didn't think I could handle that. A frown creased the edges of my eyes and my ears turned away, spinning back quickly to catch her soft words. Stay, she asked, in that sweetest of voices. Please.
I wanted to groan. No good deed goes unpunished. But of course, the anger died in my throat, shifting and drying into sour ash. I looked down at her, and saw those damn blue eyes peering back at me, and there was no way I could deny her, no world in which I could be so cruel. She was almost a memory, yet firmly a mystery; so sweet, so pretty, so damned inconvenient when all I ever wanted was to quietly brood. Some day I would be glad that I let those eyes convince me. Maybe part of me was a little bit glad then.
I did not step forward to touch her again, but I softened, relaxing, trying to push some semblance of ease into my uneasy form. "As long as you like." My voice wasn't sweet, per se, but not angry either... it was mine, and it was a promise, a pledge made by soldier to maid. Almost imperceptibly, I felt my heart lighten, the heavy deadness showing an unexpected flicker, a memory of life. It felt good to have a cause again, even if that cause was something as menial as helping a pretty girl remember how to smile.
[ I am so sorry for the wait Boom <3 ]
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