show me how defenseless you really are.

Well—the tall dark woman hardly seems to even notice me and my little spat of untrained, protective, childlike anger. She just keeps right on going, talking with Ma, exchanging words that I don’t care to try and understand. I feel miffed by this, the cold feeling prickling through my chest and itching down my spine. Flicking my little ears back, I release a shrill snort, shaking my head in this new irritation before turning to brother. I lip a few times at his feathery mane, his closeness is comforting to me. Already by some primal instinct, I know I can rely on him more than anyone, and with him, I can be more than anything.

Huffing a loud sigh with a dramatic roll of my skinny shoulders, my attention wanders to other things, bored now that this stranger isn’t giving me anything to work with. The darkness of the forest is soothing. I feel comfortable in the fluid shadows, reminded vaguely of that warm place, my home for as long as my cognitive mind could comprehend—I suppose this place would better if it wasn’t so dang cold, or the ground so hard against my raw, newborn hooves. I quiver briefly from a breeze, my coat still damp from—delightful—bodily fluids and Ma’s spit.

If nothing else, at least I’ve got brother here with me.

When I feel him lean into my shoulder, I press back, realizing a moment later that he’s trying to direct my attention. I almost roll my eyes—what could he possibly have found?—but my focus is immediately awakened when I notice it. The dragon. How in the BLAZES had I not noticed THAT thing earlier?! The creature, he is magnificent. I’ve never seen anything like it (granted, I’ve seen VERY few things at this point) but immediately I am captured, ensnared, and pulled by the firm, vicious grasp of greed.

I want it.

Smacking my lips in a display reminiscent of hunger, I take a step towards where the dragon had landed next to Ma. I want to reach out and touch it, take it, but the shrill, fledgling voice of brother distracts me. Whipping my head around fast enough that it almost knocks me off my feet, I stare at him, wide-eyed. For a few seconds I look at him like that, stunned, before laughing. I mean I adore him and all, but compared to the gruff and brazen voice of Ma, he sounds so…small. Surely I can’t sound that way too! Puffing out my chest in the biggest inhale I can muster, I try to force my young body to cooperate, powerfully heaving out a word: “MmmIINE!”

Okay, so—

I just about knock myself off my feet again with the effort I put into this, and my voice is definitely bolder than brother’s (right?), but (despite what I believe) it is no more intimidating. It’s like the miserable bray of a donkey.

Thrashing my fluffy tail indignantly around my rump, I look to Ma, my eyes lingering on the new shiny thing in her hair, before I follow the flight of the black dragon. Suddenly, the business between Ma and the dark woman have very little importance, masked so completely by this creature. He doesn’t seem very far away, so I reach out again, dark nostrils quivering as I take in his strange and beautiful presence. I want to touch him. Hardly shy—and definitely not understanding what control is—I take a step forward. I make sure that I can still feel brother’s body against mine, but I can’t resist this sweet pull of curiosity.


“Speech.”

You’re so cold,

but you feel alive—

lay your hand on me one last time.