i will not fall; i will not fade
I WILL TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY

Everything was dark and warm. Despite the gradual decrease in space as he and his twin grew, everything had been comfortable. Until the walls started to squeeze in on them, compressing against their small bodies and propelling them out the exit. His twin went first but then everything seemed to calm. The boy stretched in the newly acquired space and, although he missed the feel of his twin beside him, he relaxed into the quietness of the sudden lull - for as long as it lasted.

Unfortunately, it lasted long enough for the colt to begin to drift away into a nap. Long enough, unbeknownst to him, for his father to arrive and admire his twin sister. But that's when the squeezing began again; forcing him into the birthing canal, front hooves first. Internally the colt groaned, pinning his dark slate ears back in his irritation over this turn of events. The squeezing and pushing continues until suddenly he slides out into the Orangemoon chill of very early morning. Suddenly, he no longer felt buoyant. Instead he felt heavy, his small body being forcefully pressed into the scratchy grasses and hard soil he'd been pushed onto. The boy snorts his displeasure and with a bit more effort than he'd ever had to exert, he rolls to curl his spindly legs beneath him and lift his head. Only then does he dare to allow his odd eyes to flutter open.

It all seemed blurry and too bright. He cringes, blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear his eyes with a bit of success. Caine turns his head, allowing his dual-toned gaze to sweep over his surroundings before settling on the slightly smaller form of his twin. She was, overall, darker than himself - blue blending into dark slate with fewer patches of white. It was almost as though she had been lifted by her spindly limbs and dipped, back first, into a pool of blue. The colt stretches his soft, white muzzle towards her and calls quietly and gently to the girl's resting form. For a moment, he lingers there. For a moment, he contemplates shifting closer to her but instead the noises of others disrupts him. The boy's ears shift first, followed soon after with his eyes of silver and teal. The pale figure of his mother is obvious and quickly recognized despite having never seen her before. Her smell is distinct and familiar. It comforts him, even though it had been her that had forced him out of the comfort and safety of her womb. But then, there was the other large figure that was somehow distinctly masculine. His odd eyes shift to the male, gazing at him with a level of curiosity that only a child can possess.

The colt snorts once more, though far more softly this time and after a mere moment of hesitation and a slight tilt of his head, the boy whickers to the stallion. Yet, that's all he manages before falling silent once more. His stomach grumbles, pangs of something he doesn't fully understand clench in his gut but he does not remove his dual-toned gaze from the stallion. Instead, the boy gathers his strength and shifts his weight so that he can place his hooves beneath him. Slowly, upon trembling limbs the boy lifts himself from the uncomfortable cold ground. He fumbles only a bit, widening his stance in an attempt to steady himself. Once Caine has risen and steadied his limbs in a more normal stance, the colt simply stands - quiet but observant until pure instinct pulls him towards his mother where he moves to attempt to latch onto her teat and lose himself in her nourishment.

His curiosity of the stallion does not wane, though. He feels drawn to him - why is anyone's guess but since mother hadn't chased him away, the boy could only imagine that the male held some amount of importance.

CAINE