and i must pour forth a river of words
or i shall suffocate.
or i shall suffocate.
I
t’s easy to lose herself in the night, in the fireflies, in the water. Firelight dances along her skin, drawing patterns in smoke and shadows. She wonders if it makes her eyes look gold, if it spins the brown in them to sunlight and makes the look, for the night, a single tone instead of a blend of mismatched colors. The thought — the idea that she was someone else tonight, not entirely herself — makes her bolder.
And so, she dances.
She dances the way she once watched the gypsies of Denocte dance, sliding one foot in front of the other and weaving between the other dancers like smoke. She dances like she is coming alive, like breathing — like each pirouette and leap is a heartbeat, keeping her going. All around her the fireflies are darting back and forth, landing on her skin like shy kisses before spinning away.
Maret laughs, and presses closer to Elena. She matches her reflection in the water — every step the palomino takes, Maret takes in turn. She shortens her own stride into a prance, tucks her own chin against her shoulder and weaves back and forth in the water.
She dances.
Until —
Stop.
She freezes, lungs trembling like twin butterflies in the metamorphosis, blood racing in her ears. And through the hazy twilight, she sees them coming to them.
Fireflies alight on their skin one by one, crowding closer and closer to the two horses standing knee-deep in the water. A smile blossoms slowly across Maret’s face, as she reaches her muzzle out to them. Her reflection stares back at her in the water, sparkling and crowned with light. She turns back to Elena, laughter making her eyes shine.
“They did,” she whispers, her voice low and filled with emotion, as if afraid to speak any louder for fear of scaring them off. The gentle praise makes her blush.
As the circle of fireflies grows tighter, she steps closer and presses her shoulder to Elena’s. “How do you know these things?” she whispers, still watching the light grow brighter, and brighter, and warmer around them in awe.
{ @Elena "speaks" notes: <3 }
