"'But'm sleeping," he mumbled grumpily, his tongue weirdly heavy and the taste of sleep stale in his mouth. But his protests were nothing more than words, and the boy was quick to rise to his feet, curiosity winning a war with apathy- surprises were never to be ignored!

Especially when it was just them, just him and Ma and the rest of the world could suck it. She was always so busy, and even though Zèklè knew she had to be, that it was because she was the best warrior in the herd and so she had to help everyone get better, he still missed her something awful when she wasn't there. The boy valued their shared time more than he would ever admit; the adoration he felt for his mother was deep and impassioned. He idolized the electric mare, for she was the center of his world, and really, what else could he ever need? As he chased her, laughing, the boy did not want, did not yearn for a father, for a brother, for a friend. And as the evening fell the boy felt bright, alive and young and happy and free.

Zèklè was winded by the time they reached the beach, but of course he wouldn't let Ma see that. Instead he super subtly stepped closer to the blue mare, letting his body lean against hers, finding his spot tucked within her wing- "Yeah!" he agreed, sunbeam gaze fixed on the distant horizon, bottle-brush tail flicking enthusiastically against soft thighs. He had never seen a sunset like this, so vibrant, so perfect, so peaceful yet alive. The salt stung his nostrils, making him sneeze, and he turned to his mom with a grin on his face. It did not take him long to get his second wind.

"Can y'ever get all the way to the end- like, y'know, and touch the sun?" Zèklè had never seen the sun this close- well, except maybe when the SUN came and visited the herd, but that was kinda different, right? The sun and the SUN weren't the same thing at all, were they? He frowned, caught in the trouble of this new conundrum. The boy's face folded in concentration; he reached with a foreleg to paw at the sand, but was stopped by the warm breath of Ma on his neck.

He looked up, and smiled.

Ma made everything better.

He flopped down beside her, attentive and alert. "No!" he cried in response to the question, though he would have said that even if she said yes- he was always interested in one of Ma's stories, because of course Ma's stories were the best. Eagerly the boy settled into the sand, searching the sand for interesting objects but nonetheless listening, enjoying, careless in his youth and naive in his delight.

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OOC;; took forever but hey it's here? I LOVE THEM OK
TAG;; @[Ampere]