continuation of this thread.

The night had been uneventful, punctuated with far off howls of wolves and the closer hoots of owls. Alleo had hardly slept, preferring to keep watch over the mare who seemed to have found comfort in him in her time of need. From time to time he would look down at her as she slept, thinking that she looked peaceful and content, so different from her broken and nearly panicked state when she was awake. He remembered his sisters looking the same way when they were younger and tormented by their parents. Only once had he allowed his head to rest on Rasta's shoulder, closed his eyes, and allowed himself an hour or so of uninterrupted sleep so he could allow his body to rest. What good would he be if he needed to protect her and was too tired to do so? When he awoke he felt better and was more alert than he had been before. It was the only thing he could be thankful for from his childhood. He'd learned to live with very little sleep and could function normally.

She was warm, though, and the warmth was comforting and continued to try and lull the stallion to sleep again. He couldn't stand, though, because he'd pulled her close against his side and she was using his forelegs as pillows for her head. Alleo spent the rest of his night fighting the urge to stand and fend off the sleep that his body was suddenly tempting him with and keeping watch over his new-found companion. At least that's what he assumed she would be until Tallsun because she didn't seem to want to leave his side.

His muzzle was resting against Rasta's neck and he was somewhere between awake and dozing when the sun peeked through the trees and shined into his eyes. Alleo jerked his head upward, bicolored eyes squeezed shut tightly against the offending light. It took him several moments for his eyes to adjust to the light and when they were he looked down at the slumbering mare. "Rasta." Her said her name gently and nuzzled her ear before lipping at it. "Time to wake up, the sun's up." He tugged tenderly at her mane and waited until she had awoken and had lifted herself so he could stand. His joints cracked and popped as he stood and he was still for a moment as he waited for the tingling in his muscles to die away so they could begin their journey.

Alleo flicked his tail and looked at Rasta, offering a gentle smile. "To the Foothills?" He asked her just to be sure that she hadn't changed her mind sometime during the night, and only when she had agreed to their destination did he set off at a walk. He wondered briefly if he should tell her to old onto the end of his tail so that she wouldn't fall too far behind and would stop sooner, that way he wouldn't be so much at risk of being dumped into a pool of water again. Maybe one day he would laugh about it, but for now he would just be relieved that he hadn't kicked her in the head when she'd burst from the forest so unexpectedly.

He had decided to take it slow on the trip back to the Foothills, allowing time for them to both rest and eat when they were hungry or tired. He kept the conversation easy, only asking yes and no questions like 'Do you need to rest?' or 'Are you hungry?' or 'Are you feeling okay?' because she had spent a good deal of the day before crying and she had shivered quite a bit before he'd gotten her warm enough.

When they had finally crossed the border into the Foothills, Alleo visibly relaxed and turned toward Rasta. "This is the Foothills." He said, his head nodding in a direction that would lead them farther into the land that he helped to protect. "Do you want to stay here until Tallsun?" For some reason he hoped that she said yes.

"."


@[Rasta]