[AW] hold warm saltwater in your mouth

[Noëlle]

To the girl’s astonishment, her aim holds true with a dull thud. It rattles through her bones with an unnerving force – so much that she can feel it in her teeth. The momentum sends Noëlle off her target at an angle, moving past the dark and gnarled creature. She draws her haunches in and skids briefly in the sand to face the herd.

Wind whips past her face, uncovering a tempest barring fangs and claws transformed. Eyes with the intensity of a full moon illuminate her unwavering will. This is not me, a small voice warns. But they must think it so. The stranger has broken free from their death march. And to her surprise finds his company beside her – nearly a breath too late. His muted form stands strong at the periphery.

The air becomes electric. With each heated inhale it stings her lips with salt. Heavy breaths fill her lungs – her mind – races with the possibility of an actual fight about to go down. The fear is a familiar friend. It spreads like iron in her veins, catches fire when it reaches the tips of her hooves with the sensation of sparks – then numbness. Tipping the scale in favor of shutting down, provided with enough attention. It starts with the world becoming a singular ring, or perhaps the stereo sound of the waves becoming one.

And perhaps it’s happened before, in the fogginess of that brain. In the depths and wells that go on hidden from the present. When she was weaker than she’d hoped to be, and helpless when she only desired to be strong. The kelpies finally begin to release the pressure from their pursuit. The black stallion, heralding an unyielding gaze finally draws away with his kin. His eyes are a warning, a transgression against him and his people. Her eyes follow his movements, trailing away like black ink. The moisture of his skin glistens and highlights with each pull and ripple, until the sea has dissolved him whole. As if – they’d never been there to begin with. Carrying the stench of decay, and heavy sea breathe with them.

She forgets she is not alone in that awkward silence. The intensity in her eyes bend under fatigue, and wane into a dull, forgettable color of plain blue. She lifts her head a moment too slow, and finds her gaze entrapped by his burning, sunset hues. Despite the lack of light, the contrast is stark and unforgettable.

His voice lilts beyond her. She vaguely discerns his words, a few too seconds late from when they first meet the air. Dazed, Noëlle frowns when he flinches from the encroaching wave. And twists her head, her very heavy head – to the foam pushed forward from the water. A relieved smile cuts into her vacant façade. “An imposition?” Confusion paints her voice. She shakes her head, thick strands of damp hair now sticking to her muddled neck. “Without you I would have died. What I did was foolish… It was a combined effort. We’re survivors.” Noëlle brandished a confident grin. Deflecting his praise.


“Lyr, it’s a pleasure. I'm Noëlle.” Her expression softens. For a brief moment she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and sighs. She feels ill, nauseous even. The thought of water and food is far from her mind. “You must be exhausted… Why were they chasing you?”
 
She takes a few tentative steps back towards the narrow path up the cliff face. Feeling out her balance, as her hooves sink into the sand. I am alive, I am breathing, feel the wind on my shoulder, the steady thrum of my heart gushing. Pausing once to see if he would follow her.
 
“What were they?”