Velvet ebony ears flicked back with thoughts of inner misgivings, a tempered ‘sigh’ whelped past the studs defenses. Each step felt burdened by invisible chains, bottomless pits turned toward a gathering of tropical timbers. It was turning into another blissfully dry, hot afternoon. Oh, happy days! The only benefit to living in such a deserted place was the fun of breathing was taken out of the game. Flat tongue rolled mindlessly between clinched jaws, the first ideal that came to mind when describing how such rolls felt from within—was sand. It felt like someone had taken a bucket of gritty granules and poured it down his throat. He could almost feel his saliva evaporate. Gotta love living in the throat.

Sharpened hooves clashed with dusty soil, he set an easy pace with body looping toward a wet goal. Trees meant water; water meant his mood would slightly alter to something of a more pleasant nature. Heat waves swam ahead, golden orbs watched for a moment before drifting back toward earth. Honestly, it made him dizzy to watch a sea of sand bounce up and down. Ivory primaries stuck out like a lovely sore thumb against his multi-hued coat, each layer of coverts folded over until both wings were tucked firmly against a warm hid.

After a few minutes of steady trotting the distance between beast and said grove, shortened; a rewarding shadow stretched out with hungry fingers ready to accept all who entered. The sweet essence of his desire took flight and slipped into flared nostril’s, he named the fragrance with a slight moan threatening to escape, “Water.” Eager to obtain a cool drink he plunged down a familiar trail with the same easy steps. Truth be told he could probably walk the distance while sleeping, each twist brought fresh memories; some good, some—not so good. He tried to keep the box of not so good at a fair distance.

Fragrances got stronger; the one he sought grew immensely with each passing moment. Another scent lingered with passing hints, a female. He recognized the sweetened taste as one of the herd and thought nothing further of its nature. Forest opened; moisture hungry timber fell away and what lay ahead was a sight to behold. A pristine lake bountiful in three things: aqua life, water and drinking buddies. Such a large gathering of liquid was certain to attract all sort of company, he felt slightly lucky that this certain, ‘buddy,’ was a mild tempered mare. Eyes followed the smooth curves of her body before landing politely in another direction, “Good day to you,” even with the recognition of features he couldn’t quite place a name for the girl, limbs tensed and pulled the lad up short at water’s edge. Soft mud accepted given weight with notable reluctance, thus body sunk half an inch while he proceeded to quench stricken thirst. When physical needs where met he turned to regard her politely, “I don’t believe we have had the pleasure of conversing before,” softened tones lavished out to pull her attention toward innocent ponderings,“Please, call me Midas.”

Word count: 539