Painful Expectations

the Rift

Painful Expectations | Zikar-Sin

Zikar-Sin Posts: 78

Hidden Account

Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 8

M.E.

#13

02-06-2013, 01:39 PM

*”Can we…can we not talk about this? It makes me feel conflicted.”*

The words washed over Sin, and he took a deep breath—before letting it fall from his lips in silent chuckles. Once it broke his lips, it didn’t stop; as the snickering left the depths of his throat, it began to grow into something larger and heartier—as a snowball might fall from the snow-capped mountain side and grow as it rolls to the foothills below, so did Sin’s laughter grow into great, side- shaking warbles of airy, genuine amusement. Sin had never laughed like that—or if he did, he had no memory of it. The weight of it was almost painful on his sides, and he could feel the prickling of tears at the sides of his eyes. And yet the sensation he felt wasn’t one of discomfort, but one of release; Sin felt as though he were ~~walking~~ standing on air, on top of the world and, for the moment, king of its realm. The reason was simple: What Tolio described was precisely was Sin was feeling. It was as though the chestnut stallion was begging to leave off this topic for Sin’s sake. His words on both the Dark Empress and the Ice King, the sincerity he spoke with when he said he was servant to them both—it was all so confusing, and too much for Sin to contemplate. He would think of them later, surely, but it would be a long and arduous process to contemplate-- with a jolt, Sin realized that Tolio must be in the same situation, if not that much more confusing. Sin….for once in his life, Sin understood how someone else was feeling, and the reverse was true as well. It was such a beautiful feeling bubbling up inside him, like seltzer water or tiny, bottle stars begging for release. Sin laughed because he was finally assured that he wasn’t insane.

He laughed because he didn’t feel so alone.

*”Come on Sinny! Doesn’t it look interesting?”*

Sin registered the subtle touch on his shoulder as the laughter died in his lips, thought mirth still bubbled up inside him and continued to boil as Tolio succumbed to fits of his famous giggling. The feeling was infectious; following Tolio, the dappled stallion stepped upon the beach and looked out upon the sparkling waters of the northern sea. Sin’s eyes widened as he surveyed the expanse; he had seen oceans before, sure, but he never once thought that so much water could exist so far north. Wouldn’t it freeze? Was there some sort of chemical in the make-up of the water that kept it from freezing? Or, perhaps, the water was kept at an elevated temperature at all times? And if that were true, how was it kept at a sustained temperature? Sin’s mind buzzed with these and a thousand more questions, the contemplation of science combining with Tolio’s contagious happiness and giggling placing Sin firmly within his happy place.

Hmmm…I wonder. The salt was evident in the air, and it was an ocean after all, so Sin was aware that this water was salty. But he wanted to test his hypothesis that there was a chemical keeping the ocean from freezing. He reached out with his mouth, intending to taste the liquid—but then he realized that this mystery substance might prove to be fatal if ingested. Drat. He would have to think of something else; perhaps he could test his other hypothesis that stipulated it was the waters temperature that kept it from freezing? He reached out his lips again, intending to only feel the water’s temperature-- but another idea came to mind. A wry, reckless, rash idea that was no-doubt born of the bliss from his forced ignorance.

Sin suddenly leapt forward, crashing into the water with his cloven feet. Almost immediately, Sin realized that this was an awful idea; the water singed and burned him, lashing at him wherever it touched, though Sin knew this burning was associated with the ass-cold property of the water. It certainly wasn’t temperature keeping it from freezing—but by all accounts the water should have been frozen already. Weird. Sin didn’t contemplate it for long, however; he quickly leapt out of the water back onto the frozen beach, splashing icy liquid as he went. He hadn’t exactly thought this through; he was still in the middle of the Frozen Steppe, snow lying about and a healthy wind-chill settled in the area. And now his legs, sides, chest, beard, and tail were sopping wet, only adding to the abysmally cold sensation.

Sin looked up at Tolio, then back at the ground; if he had enough body-heat left, his ear s would have blushed. He was suddenly shy—but it wasn’t because he had just flopped into the water. It was the effect Tolio had on him. “It….It’s cold,” he said somewhat stupidly; he chuckled at his own dullness.

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IMG Credit: ness094@deviantart.com

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