He could hear footsteps upon the earth. It surprised him, despite having expected some sort of answer or another. Not this quickly, surely. Masanori lacked any concrete basis for which he compared the response to. The days behind him were numerous, and easily bled into one another. All recollections of other equine passed by as dull glimmers in a much larger chapter in his life. With quiet passing, their voices had lifted up into soft murmurs. Sometimes, a pair of eyes would meet with his. But he had refused to stop and acknowledge them then. Refused to delve in the social ambiguities tethered to such gazes. And here he was, another set of eyes pale and forthcoming. For a moment he thought, she might see right through them; an empty soul, simple minded, aloof. As if she had caught him bare and naked. Had she commented as such he would have found no argument, and proceed to agree fondly of this observation.

Another noise, subtle, darted from the female to the back of her ‘pursuer’. He lifted his head high with a brief motion. Smelling the air for the predator. His ears flattened, jolted by the realization that a wolf is often settled into a pack of brothers and sisters. And with the height of the winter season settling upon these lands, enamoured by the scent of fresh blood. To his curiosity the mare did not seem to notice or care much for the presence of the creature. Shifting on his feet, his ears relaxed as the wolf ran off. Shaking his head briefly, his eyes resumed as her voice sampled the air around them.

“… and you have answered,” he replied slowly at first. Hesitant, as the words quickly picked up on their own. Became familiar and distant with which the form of his lips took on, having movement and shape without true purpose. His head tilted at that moment. Stepping forward in an air of profound curiosity. “Will you walk with me?”

His voice sought for something. But the level of question did not hinge off of a desperate plea. Subdued as they were, he could not help the rusty edge from which his voice pressed into the air. Weathered but far from being old or weary of his travels.

It seemed strange to make contact in this way. Offering a moment of intimacy by the gesture of his leg, extending it in her direction. As though it were natural for him to suggest as much. Lacking true form, any hint of regal formality, his reactions were as how she had first caught him with her eyes. Exposed, naked in his approach.

But there seemed to be no other way to react to her. And the idea that they were nothing more than strangers kept him calm. The distance between galaxies, as they rushed farther and further from each other, came with a mutual line of defense. However lonely it appeared to some. Even so, as Masanori figuratively surveyed the distant stars of the people around him, his gravity had pulled her to him. Somewhere deep in his psyche, the warmth of this proximity would spread. Uncovering perhaps, more than bare bones and empty soul.



@[Essetia]