------" Tares "------

The mare with no memory seems more confident and sure of herself than I. While I have no intention of denying my emotions any longer, I wonder if this is the best way to address them. I am unaccustomed to such bare honesty and opening myself to strangers. Though, I suppose she is no longer a stranger to me. How could one feel warm and safe in the eyes of a stranger?

I wonder if love is merely an infectious emotion; if I feel it as a result of her love for me, or vice versa. But no infection could feel this concrete, no emotion could be this strong without solid foundation. So perhaps this is simply a part of me previously undiscovered, an untapped potential. How long have I had the capacity to love like this, and how long have I kept it shut away?

Aure seems to know exactly what to do. She tells me she knows nothing more than I, but I wonder if she is simply one made to love. There is a care in each of her steps, an affection within each touch, that draws me closer to her. Her face brushes mine and my breath releases in a shaken exhale. My eyes flutter and my heart beats quickly, and I feel suddenly quite weak. One soft step is taken closer to Aure, and my soft beard falls against her chest. Still my tail writhes and twists as a happy nervousness settles over me. Should I feel calm? I can't control emotion now, I can barely think. It is her touch that keeps me falling off of the brink of reality, the sound of her breathing that keeps my heart open.

I become aware of the fact that she is expecting a reply, but I've no notion of what to say. I feel her touch and the feather in my mane bursts brighter as my wings extend their flaming tips outwards as a sign of my pleasure. I let out a nervous, happy whinny, and the quiet sound rolls around the dark of the forest.

From his perch on the tree, Arbutus awakens from a light sleep to the familiar sound of his guardian's whinny and sees the scene unfold below. Sleepily he lets himself fall from the tree and glide to the pair, landing on Aure's shoulders and picking affectionately at her mane. His eyes meet my gaze briefly, and there is a semblance of further understanding between us. In just a moment, everything feels as it should.