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Tembovu the Elephant King
Her small body jerked to a halt in response to his commanding call—and silence stretched for a short (but also infinitely long) moment. His black-rimmed ears strained forward, navy eyes creased as he watched her, waiting for an answer to his question— “I…”But there was nothing to chase that “I…” There was no explanation, no whispered words—just a choked off voice and more silence. She was too far away from him to see the turmoil crease her dainty face, or cloud her bi-colored eyes. But the way her usually pert voice suddenly became silent rose alarm in the King. The silence was heavy, filled with an explanation that she did not want to give and he did not want to hear… but an explanation that needed to be heard, lest its poison continue to bleed and stain more facets of Erthe’s life.
And then, she ended the weighty silence with a simple “I said it's fine.” But there was a tone in her voice, a tone that she had never used with the Elephant King before—just as he had never commanded her before. It was a day of firsts for the pseudo-father and pseudo-daughter. A long and hard sigh pushed out his nostrils, disappointment flashing through his eyes (again, for the first time) at the snowy hybrid mare.
“Is it?” Though his question was simple, the deep roll was dark, hard, and sad. His jaw clenched slightly as his chest tightened—his son had died too young to have been able to lie to him. So enduring the lies of one’s child was not, yet, an experience the King had—until now.
His thick lips pursed tightly, his body still not moving despite Erthe starting forward again. In the face of her terse dismissal of his questions, he had nothing more to say to the woman he saw as a daughter. His ears tilted back, navy eyes watching her retreating pearlescent body. Part of him simmered with anger—why did she not answer him? Part of him despaired—how was he to be a father if one daughter lied to him and his other children did not even live with him?
Waves of gloom enveloped his tight chest as he stood still, waiting to see if
@Erthë this was a strange Tembo post... and kind of out of character for him :/
Please tag Tembovu.
