It was foolish for the mare to assume anything about the delight that danced behind Veil’s eyes- right? Clearly it was nothing more than amusement that the star had caused some kind of fluster from a mere touch. Again, Torielle reminded herself that the starwoman was not of equine design, though she may have held equine form. The societal niceties and customs were not as impressed upon her as they had been to others at birth. She would not know that to touch her in such a way, while for all intents and purposes was correct in showing how the veil would lay across her own hips, could have been so… so… provocative. As wise and knowing as the woman was, especially now that she was reunited with the cosmos, there were certain things that she would only grasp with time. One of those things must certainly be the subtleties between salacious flirting and friendly gestures. 

Torielle shifted her weight, her skin flushing hot with all the stares she felt glossing over her coat. Her audits flicked as she listened to snippets of conversation from the stalls around them. Only a few focused on the two women, and of those maybe one or two really understood the calamity of the situation. She tried to drown out the commentary by focusing again on Veil, trying (and failing miserably) to convince herself that her twitterpation was one-sided and all in her own head. 

A bright laugh bubbled from the mare’s chest as she watched the star attempt to place everything herself. Though she had the right idea, the chains were a bit lopsided, and trying to maneuver around her wings without looking in a mirror was proving to be a bit difficult. It was very amusing, though Torielle could see in her periphery the stall owner watching them gruffly, muttering something about hoping the woman didn’t tangle or break the finer chains on the adornment. 

“Here,” she said, stepping forward. “Let me help you then. As entertaining as it is to watch you struggle,” the doe giggled. “It’s something you’ll learn with practice. And I can’t imagine the wings help you any.” 

Carefully, Torielle moved so that she stood behind the star mare. Her heart thrummed high in her throat and she tried to swallow it down back to where it belonged. When that didn’t work, she settled herself to not speak. She knew what she would need to do. Could she have done so with just the telepathy gifted to all equid creatures? Certainly.  But was she more interested in returning the oh so kind gesture that Veil had extended to her previous? Absolutely. 

The mare bent her head forward, very careful of where her antlers were in relation to Veil and to the rest of the stall of fine silks and jewelry. Her own bells rang out with the motion as she maneuvered the silk cover back into place. It had only slid off to one side because of the chain, which she lifted gently so as not to snag the light fabric. Once she was certain that the cover was draped properly, she found the centerpoint of the hip chains. She placed the center disk at Veil’s spine, smoothing the other chains with their weighted moon and stars along either side of her hips. Her vision was nothing but stardust wafting from delicate feathers, and the mare’s chest ached. It was then the woman realized she’d been holding her breath. 

A terrible time to realize it, really. When she inhaled, her nares filled with the delicate scent of the woman, and juniper had never been more appealing. She nuzzled the soft curve of Veil’s hip, justifying the touch as fixing one of the more delicate decorative chains, before stepping back to admire her handiwork. 

“There,” she spoke breathlessly. The woman gave herself as much room as she could manage with the festival continuing on around them. As much as was polite, and would allow her time to keep her mind from swimming into very dangerous thoughts.

It was a rare thing for the scholar to indulge in. Her fantasies were often brief, soft things kept to herself so that she might feel less alone in the darkest hours of night. When the sting of loss from her goddess was at its peak and she needed some simple distraction. Often it was just images of her and Veil talking. Of them wandering the Viride and pointing out all the beautiful birds in the branches, or the creatures that hid in the brush. The racey images that clouded her mind now were a far cry from anything she had allowed herself to explore in what felt like an eon. Lorelei had been the last mare to conjure such affections in her, and even then it had been a time when Torielle was much younger, more prone to dwell on such inappropriateness. 

The doe swallowed, hard, resolving herself not to touch Veil again. To not sully their friendship with these desires. While the feelings themselves did not feel inherently wrong to her, she could not convince herself that the star woman’s actions were ones of deliberateness and not out of naivety for what they could mean. 

Torielle’s heart trembled at the thought of needing to explain such things to her friend. What would she think, if she knew? Veil had been nothing but kind and accepting to her, to everyone she met, really. She was a star being- what use did they have for such frivolous earthly connections? Would it mean anything to her? The scholar tried to push those worries from her mind, knowing that they would show plainly on her features now. She needed to gain control of herself, before her desire to bolt surfaced and caused more confusion and potential hurt.



"Speech." | @Veil Nebula