He was honestly beginning to reach that point. The one known to many and experienced rarely, but a point well recalled by all those who reach it. The event horizon of one's emotions, the threshold that could only hold back so much. A dam waiting to break, the pounding hooves of distress on the other side begging the wall to fall so that they might run free.
As dusk fell, the crawling of ants and other insects across flesh grew in intensity. A coat as murky brown as the swamplands from which it came ruffling like the dry grasses in the desert assaulted by the sandstorm. Irritated, ruffling like it was being buffeted by an angry gale. Hooves stomped as the being to which the coat was attached tried to shake the distressing feeling off. Not the true presence of insects on flesh, but the irritating sensation so akin to it brought on by great stress and constant, continual paranoia and worry.
One in front of the other, the small stallion steadily trudged forwards, not sure to where he was headed, but heading steadily in that direction all the same. Walking, walking, trying to get the nervous energy out, to banish it so that he might sleep. Even if just for a short time, he wanted so badly to sleep. It was not a lofty goal for some, but it had been some time since he last rested for longer than a few hours if he was very fortunate.
His mind did not cope well with being forced into such a large group with such suddenness, although he knew full well that he had not complained much and merely allowed it to happen. It did not change the fact that it sent his mind and anxiety a tittering, the nonsensical, half-formed thoughts rapidly darting to and fro in his mind like minnows in a burbling brook, flopping around uselessly and not doing much other than displaying some vague form of emotion. The color of their scales glinted in the sunlight, took no real form, but was there nonetheless. Such was the way of the worries that plagued his heart, causing it to flutter like a bird in a cage with anxious energy that had no real form, but was dropped upon it nonetheless.
It had spread from his mind, to his heart, to his skin, to even his muscles as he found himself twitching every now and then at noises just a bit too loud. At a cricket chirp just a bit more voluminous than the rest, at a breeze just a tad harsher than the rest. Small things, unnoticeable things, to all but those who were at hyper alert with their sensitivities.
But it was becoming too much, and so, when those dull, copper eyes found themselves alighting on the form of a ruby vixen, of one whose colors were like those of the waning sunset that came from the horizon's edge, he found himself without the remaining reserves to have his distress worsen. His body simply didn't have it left in him.
And it was in moments like these, when he was simply too drained to even fathom feeling anxiousness anymore, when his mind was momentarily free of the dark whispers, that he could remember that he truly was a social creature, and the matted male who was quite unkempt approached the reclined woman, not caring at all that her face was one so very strange to him.
The approach was brought about without any secondary intent in his movement other than that he was merely walking in this direction. And as his standing form was brought just before the woman, he stilled, peering down at her curiously for just a moment, taking in the plant hanging from her mouth and the very... relaxed air about her.
Before he stepped to her side, and wordlessly laid himself down next to her reclined form, not close enough to be touching but close enough to indicate that he had chosen to bring the two of them together as a group, as a party for at least this one moment. He laid his head down upon the grass, flanks and shoulders twitching for a moment as he shivered off the itches of nerves. Eyes flickered to the plant once more, and some part of his mind must have decided that the vegetation was the reason for her unnatural calm.
His voice was a soft murmur, just the slightest bit hoarse and dry, but not cracking with distress and instead simply a gentle rumble.
"Got anymore of those?
Perhaps he could rest with a little assistance from nature itself.
@Khadija
