[AW] ' ' tell me that you love me too *

[Kibou]

He was growing. No longer was he the small, innocent foal that suckled at his mother’s teat. No longer was he afraid to step away from her for fear that she might not return to him at night. No longer did he fear simply living. For months his mother had told him stories of his father, stories of his bravery and his love. And yet, none of those stories ever told him exactly what had happened to his father. Saki said it was because the wound was still fresh, still painful. But at almost a year old, Kibou had never met the man who had fathered him. Was that not enough time to let wounds heal?

Oh the innocence of child. Even though the colt is no longer small, but growing, he is still as innocent as the day he was born. He still does not understand the pain of love and loss. He does not understand just how much his mother loved his father, how much she had hoped and prayed for him. There are so many things he does not quite understand, but he wants to, oh he wants to so desperately.

As the snow settles over Denocte, the almost yearling makes his way through the court, this time on a very serious mission. He had discovered the coco vender weeks before and had made a habit of visiting the vender at least twice a week when his mother was too busy self-reflecting by the lake. He wished he knew how to make his mother smile, to see laughter and joy upon her face. Those were emotions that he rarely saw, perhaps only once in a blue moon. Most of the time he only saw pain, sadness, and anger - emotions that he was still too young to truly comprehend.

As he makes his way up to the coco vender, Saki sits quietly upon the back of her bonded, her small hands fisted into his mane that was beginning to flow with maturity. He orders himself one with extra whipped cream, and a smaller mug for the monkey who sits quietly upon his back.

Once he has his goods in tow, he looks around, looking for someone to talk to. Living with his mother was exhausting. He loved her…but she was not good for company. He sees Moira sitting with her tiger and he smiles as he picks up a light trot towards her, spilling a little of his coco as he goes. “Good day!” His voice still sounds young and immature, sexual maturity having not yet hit the colt full force. But despite the tone of his voice, he is starting to mature, to fill out, to be less gangly. He is growing day by day and each day Saki tells him just how big he’s getting.

Without waiting for an invitation to sit next to her, he eased himself into a relaxed position, sipping on his coco as he turns to look first at her tiger and then to her. “He has the best coco, wouldn’t you agree?” Ah, the innocence of a child. He is not concerned about politics or about war. He is only concerned with the rich chocolate that assaults his taste buds with sweet ecstasy!

@Moira