TORIELLE
It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams
The returned gesture gave birth to an explosion of butterflies in Torielle’s stomach as she melted into Veil’s touch. The dappled mare was familiar with the sensation; the fluttering of childhood crushes was nearly unmistakable. She would contain herself, though. Her upbringing had taught her that all love was sacred, but her tutelage among the Sages had spoken against any earthly attachments, any deep rooted connections with anyone outside of their devotion to Gaia. She’d never agreed with such notions to begin with, and that had always been something her teachers found troublesome. However, with the mare's preferences for those of her own ilk, The Council had seen it to be of overall little consequence. She wouldn’t have any reason to forsake her vows of celibacy if her lust and love was for another woman after all.
Though her own heart was a flurry, she would not be able to tell for certain if the affections would be mirrored, and she valued her budding friendship far too much to press her luck. So the mare enjoyed the gentle touch of the star’s muzzle pressed to her cheek, and basked in the glow of her beautiful words, but she wouldn’t allow herself to read too much into it. No, not too much.
Veil made it difficult, the praise she spoke of showering the antlered mare like a thousand glittering lights, electrifying her skin. Torielle had to remind herself that Veil was not of this mortal coil- she could not possibly know what kind of intensity those words would bring, what such things could appear to be.
And to say them in the halls of worship no less! For a brief moment it felt as close to veneration as any other goddess could achieve. She quickly stomped out the thought- if the scholar allowed that feeling to bloom, it would consume her ego, and truly, she reasoned, Veil couldn’t know that the way she spoke was almost akin to lovers more than friends. The star woman had said as much just moments ago, that she had no understanding of how to be equine.
Instead, Torielle gave her a soft smile, dipping her head in both gratitude and a touch of embarrassment. “I could say the very same,” she said. “You came to me in a time where I felt very lost and gave me purpose again.” She made careful eye contact beneath a thick fringe of lashes, calming blue pools to dazzling pink hues. “Taught me joy again. I don’t think I could ever thank you enough for that.”
A stiff wind wove through the pillars that surrounded them and shivered down the mare’s spine. Though the season had changed, the two of them had climbed a great height, and at this altitude it certainly did not feel like a fresh spring breeze so much as a biting winter chill. She cast her gaze back to the path that led from the mountain peak, her bells chiming as the wind continued to pull at them.
“Though I imagine that’s our cue to leave,” she chuckled. “Perhaps we can celebrate your gift with a warm cup of tea and something delicious for lunch. It should be about time for that, I think, once we reach the bottom.”
art by the-day-of-shadow character by scapeh table by sunny
