The lake of lovers.

It felt wrong for Lakota to call it that, though she knew that was a name known well by everyone else. Aodaun was growing throughout Tallsun, but he was suffering in the heat, his thick snowy coat trapping it in. Lakota suffered with him, and so that morning they had set out while the world was still cool, leaving under the cover of the dawn. The river of the meadow was nearer, but Lakota had yet to explore the grove that intrigued her so. It made her think of Ithrim, of how he would have been the type to surprise her with such a place. She could imagine his goofy half-smirk half-smile, how he’d usher her in and laugh at her expression of surprise. It made her heart ache, but it seemed like she didn’t feel so sad about him anymore. It made her panic, and for days she had been trying to figure out exactly why. Why now? Why was she only now letting him go? It wasn’t a bad thing, for she knew he wanted her to move on and find love again. But it also terrified her, for she didn’t want to be without his memory. His face was always so clear in her mind, but what if it disappeared? Lakota was assured by her own everlasting love for him, but her own hesitance for finding love made every emotion conflict with the next.

Aodaun made a happy growling sound when he charged past the drooping boughs of the willows and discovered the cool shaded grove, the perfect blue of the water. He went barreling into it, sending up a spray of water in his joy. Yanked out of her thoughts she laughed out loud at his actions, feeling much safer and willing to let go of her reservations when alone. For once it wasn’t mocking or harsh, but soft and lilting. Ao turned and made a howling growl at her, pulling at their bond to entice her into play. Smiling she sent her own joy through their bond and he only crashed more exuberantly through the water. Lakota went jogging after him and leapt into the water, sending up a spray of diamonds that reflected the rising sun of summer. Aodaun growled happily and charged after her, the two of them initiating a game of tag that stimulated the flow of happiness through their bond. He was her precious guardian, but he was still just a cub, and she always took time out of her day to entertain him. One day he would be a fighter, just like her, but she did not want his emotions to be stunted like hers. Lakota wanted their bond to be more precious than anything else in the world. Aodaun eventually chased Lakota out of the water and onto a bed of cool, long grass. Lakota let him circle her, as if he were herding her, and she trumpeted and laughed and let herself be influenced by his feelings. Just as companions were swayed by the emotions of their bonded, so were the equines swayed by the emotions of their companions. He made her loosen up, enjoy herself, simply because he was enjoying himself too.

Laughing and out of breath, she flopped down onto her side. Ao growled triumphantly and pounced onto her stomach, ever careful of his claws. Lakota huffed out a breath at his weight and laughed harder, though her chest protested at her revelry through lack of air. Lakota rolled onto her spine and Aodaun went rolling off with a surprised sound, and Lakota couldn’t help but laugh once more. It seemed she couldn’t stop, and it just continued to grow, brighter and happier and softer with every repetition. Ao pounced on her again and they rolled together over the grass. Once more she dislodged him and ended up on her right side, pressed fully against the grass that they had flattened in their play. Her long obsidian mane was splayed out across the vibrant green, plum doing the same. Aodaun pounced again, growling excitedly. His paws touched her cheeks, and he looked down into her eyes lovingly. Lakota smiled and made a soft sound in her throat that he returned. Playfully she jerked her head up and moved to her knees, shins pressed into the grass they played in. Ao went sprawling onto his back and Lakota nuzzled his fluffy tummy with her muzzle, laughing. Aodaun rolled out from her loving attack and ran in an excited circle to throw himself onto her snowy spine, as if he had born from that color. Lakota laughed until her lungs burned, smiling so wide she felt like she could light the sun all over again. The two of them continued to roll and wrestle, and Lakota knew that when he got older and larger it would only be more fun. They both seemed to be grateful for the grove’s cool shade and the water that had long since dried on both of their coats, though Aoduan especially seemed quite happy with the shade Lakota had lovingly presented him with. It was not a lake of lovers to them, no it was their own private paradise where nobody could see them open up their hearts to the skies.

::ooc: This is set almost directly before the invasion for plot and IC purposes, s3ilver, as Sparrow and I already discussed this. Hope it isn't a problem!::

Though in their play they are oblivious, it is not entirely the fault of their lowered defenses when others arrive and they are unaware. The heat is nearly stagnant outside of the Grove, and there is still little breeze despite the graciously cool atmosphere, of which is rich with grass and forestry that cloys in the senses and hides quite well most scents. Was that why it was a paradise for secret lovers, because even after their direct departure their scents would be muddled enough to be indistinguishable? Whatever the reason, the two were completely unaware of the bloodless mare in the shadows, unmindful of the fact that their most private, sanctified moment was being bared to a woman they hardly knew. Perhaps it was for the best that they did not know, for the two rolled and laughed with the chorus of delight that nobody was ever meant to hear. Lakota was aristocratic and cold, didn't allow even her closest companions to see her in such a state. If she ever was discovered, she'd likely be mortified. Or hide it with anger, as she did most emotions.

At last they rolled to a slow, Lakota's lean body drawn out along the crushed grass, the aroma flowing freely as its blades were crumpled. Aodaun gave one last tired pounced and ended up on her stomach, making her breath huff out in a laugh. Deep, liquid brown eyes stared back at her, the faintest tint of purple in their depths, as if their intertwined souls had changed a part of him. Lakota smiled at him when the fluffy body wiggled tiredly across her stomach to her shoulders, giving a soft whine as he showered her with love and gratitude for bringing him to the Grove. Lakota was the sort to be eternally aware of how everybody else felt, and always went out of her way to make it happen, though almost always in secret, and only to those who managed to gain her respect or love. Ao's head fell to her neck, and for a while they just stared at each other, locked in a mental embrace that had a soft smile on Lakota's face. Aodaun was the only soul to completely understand her since arriving in Helovia, and he brought out the softness that was so hard to find within herself. "I love you," she said quietly, though it was nothing close to a whisper, for she still believed they were alone. Aodaun didn't quite grasp spoken language, but the same half-whine, half-growl met her words.

Peace was shattered by the approach of something in the undergrowth, though whoever it was had been sufficiently quiet until they actually broke through the direct barrier of the woods around the bonded pair. It wasn't too surprising, really, for he stood beneath the boughs of a long-limbed tree. Both bodies jumped and moved like magnets, Aodaun instantly moving to stand in front of Lakota, hackles up like a cat and growling protectively. Naught but a cub, it was likely more amusing than threatening, but the real threat stood behind him. Recognition didn't set in before instinct, and so she reacted on the latter. Long limbs rolled her to her feet as fast as she could without risking harm or embarrassment, ears pinned and stance wide and ready. The soft timbre of the voice that spoke made her freeze rather visibly, slanted eyes quickly widening into a dumbfounded, owlish expression that revealed too much of her surprise. Feeling rather embarrassed at her own fighting instincts, she corrected her stance and let her listeners flick back up to pay attention to the smooth velvet of his voice. Aodaun looked between them, confused by the sudden change in her emotions. Whining he flopped down onto his belly, deciding Thayne was not a threat. He normally would go chasing around the stallion's legs, but Lakota's romp had thoroughly tired him out. Said mare's embarrassment was like a flaring beacon, one she tried unsuccessfully to hide. Normally she would be unapologetic for her behavior, but Thayne was a kind soul, one she would feel terrible to hurt. It was like staring into the face of a newborn, she was helpless against his chivalrous nature. Saving him from the harsh, naive words of another female in the meadows without a second thought, he'd left her with a rather good impression of him.

His words flustered her slightly, though not too obviously. Why would he be pleased to see her? She certainly wasn't much, especially not with the temper she'd shown that first time they'd met, and the wreck of emotions she became at the end of the confrontation. To her, showing that much was a weakness, and so assumed he would think the same. However she couldn't be cruel to such blatant benevolence, and so a smile tugged at her own lips. It was part unsure, part shy at having been caught by him- once again- at a weak moment. "I have been well, thank you. It is nice to see you again, Thayne," she replied, tone polite but with a lingering honesty behind it, a subtle warmth that betrayed the fact that she really did like his character. Much like Ktulu, he had quickly won her favor. Aodaun finally got the energy back that he'd so desired, though it wasn't hard at his age, and went zipping between Thayne's legs like he'd wanted. Kota did nothing to call him back, both doubting Thayne would mind and not wanting to reprimand him after seeing such joy on his face. "I...I apologize that you caught me at such a time, it's not very respectable or flattering," she found herself saying. It was only polite, after all, for he surely found her some sort of vagrant for playing in the grass like a two month old filly. Even so, she was more pleasant in demeanor with him than she usually was with those she hadn't known long, and again she found herself comparing him to the likes of her Grey family, who had grown into her heart so quickly with their admirable qualities.