It was just a shallow breath, almost inaudible to the untrained ear… but it was noticeable nonetheless and suddenly too loud against the backdrop of tension… among other things better left unnamed. I watched as his chest swelled and dipped in and out of shadow- nervous? I couldn’t decipher what had rattled the stallion, but I clung to his insecurities, coveted them in spite of my hesitation… Again, my eyes grazed the angular musculature along his shoulder and neck before finally anchoring soundly at the point between his eyes. Where I had not noticed before, I realized now that my captor donned not one, but two vicious horns that looped and spiraled outward from beneath his wild forelock. I studied them for a time, convinced that it would be wise of me to heed his warnings, lest he decide to use his very skull to impale me- duel shots to the heart.


However, a small part of me believed that my captor meant me no harm. It took a long time to swallow that figurative pill, but there was something moral about him, something… insightful? There were truly no words in which to describe him or his bearing, which led me to another astounding, ridiculous thought: Why did I loathe him? It appeared to me as a seed that was nestled against my heart at birth and nurtured throughout adolescence. I’d grown to abhor the stallion because of the land from which he hailed, but it made me no better than the racist creatures I’d thought inhabited the North. As hard as it was for me to accept, I owed it to him to experience his life and his mind… as a Basin resident. However-

“But before you take me home, I’d at least like to know your name,” I stated matter-of-factly. I detested the way his lips turned ever so slightly at my demands and I dreaded the way his tongue would curl with foreign syllables, hot on my trail toward what I considered mutual incineration. In an attempt to steer my thoughts elsewhere, I glanced back toward Romul searching for reassurance and direction. “Don’t trust him Ess, he lies… they all lie,” he bit with fervent malice. After receding from my thoughts and into his own, the wolf rumbled threateningly… only this time I couldn’t determine if his anger was directed at me or our captor. It was a disconcerting feeling and I couldn’t seem to fend off the tendrils of uncertainty rolling in from the emptiness of my thoughts. Romul had gone away in hopes of swaying my opinion of the situation and for a moment I was convinced that it had worked.

Again the curling notes of his cant assaulted my senses, a desirable mixture of resonant consonants and even richer vowels. Yet, they did little to keep me from assuming his words also held multiple meanings… If actual truth was unattainable, then it was plausible that no truth was ever quite… definite. How many times could one wrap lies around your throat until you choked on the falsity? I watched as his head rolled upward, noting a thick beard that stretched from his chin and down past his throat, and wondered how I hadn’t seen the smattering of hair before. As moonlight highlighted the downy strands in her pale glaze, I traced their bronzed tips toward his throatlatch and down again. At his breast began another trail of peculiar fringe that stretched toward his underbelly. In truth, whatever that term meant anymore, I’d never seen another like him. He was an oddity to me- a masterpiece of masculinity.

“As we’ve witnessed here, ” I related in agreement. His laugh had caught me off guard for it was too unnatural in the darkness. I shifted once more and the clanking of the clasps provided a sickening contrast to the stallion’s blatant display of relaxation. Romul had reminded me of my frustrations and I had a hard time adjusting again to the easy conversation I shared with, what, my captor? Could there ever really be easiness with him? The lines appeared blurred and the more I tried to diminish them, the more I felt disoriented by them. However, each of those lines were quickly reestablished by the blasphemy the stallion attempted to goad me with. I couldn’t believe that any of the Falls residents would act so brashly toward a child; I was glad to have restored my good sense before being so blindly fooled, brainwashed. “So you would have my sharp mind perish at the hands of Basin prejudice? For if it were not Midas I served, then who? Would it make a difference if I had come from the Edge? What makes you think that you and I would have met under different circumstances? ” I spat. “No matter the man I serve, I am not one of you. I am immeasurably different and must I remind you that it separated us for years? These changes you speak of do not change us nor does it change the Basin. It does not change the way I see you or the way you see me, ” I finally concluded.


My breathing had grown heavy and in an effort to hide the fatigue that came from a loss of adrenaline, I dropped my head toward my knees. When I’d found it within myself to again find his eyes, I trailed his gaze down toward the clasps still tightly fastened around my back legs. Something about the gesture made me bitter, as if there was no denying it. Changed or not, the Basin was still as it had always been. I’d wanted to see his light, because he was like no one I’d ever met… but the light was too dim for my eyes. Even as he smiled at me, hoping for recognition or understanding, I could not find it within myself to placate him. It was all too much. “That may be, but I am part of something bigger. I belong to a family who supports and protects me… Their guidance has lifted deep sorrow from my heart. I appreciate your independence, relish it in fact, but it does not justify the fact that I do not wish to join forces culturally, I want to bond emotionally… mentally, ” I relented on a sigh. There was no good reason for delving into my insecurities for this stallion, no damn good reason at all- and yet I did.

The clicking of metal drew my attention away from my captor and toward where Romul stood pensively inspecting the separated prongs at his paws. He glanced up at me with those endless amber eyes and for a moment I feared that he would risk our safety in order to attack the stallion and his companion, but instead he moved forward to lick and nibble at my shoulder. Above all else, I could always count on the wolf to comfort me in times of need… without him, independence would mean nothing but loneliness. When Romul had settled in alongside me, I looked to the stallion with mild agitation. “He thanks you, ” I muttered. Of course, no such words would have ever left the canine’s mouth and later I would have to deal with the ramifications of such a lie. However, I was still left with the decision of whether or not I was going to visit the Basin…

“Take me then, show me they’ve changed, ” I stated evenly. Though, I feared that he would be able to detect the cowardice hidden within the notes. I was afraid… there was no denying it. How could I trust the stallion and his golden lies?

essetia
ONLY YOU CAN COOL MY DESIRE
I'M ON FIRE