His ears straitened, and his entire form tensed. The voice belonged to none other then Ruri, and for a moment there was dread in his chest. He had never wanted her to know the voice he spoke to the horses. He could be seen as harsh, though his touch was never too sharp nor his words too degrading. It was his tone that he meant to reach the stallion, not the French words that had his face blushing. The hybrid turned, eyes falling to the collie’s face. He smiled at the sight of her, and took a few mindless step towards her. It was then that he remembered her question. “Oh, just nibbling on my arm. He’s jealous of the others who got to race.” Stark had not been one to race, and the pent-up energy was making him act out. Heath should have known that and seen it in the stallion’s eyes. It was only when the female confronted him that he could see the true problem.
She spoke once more, and Heath found that it was silence that was his answer. He remembered the ending of the race, Haven winning and the crowd disbanding. He had looked for her, and found that she was beside Jac as always. It was wrong to feel jealousy, it was wrong to want to be the one beside her so often. He had not earned that right, and still the male wished to have it. The feelings that radiated between them were clouded, at least to the male’s eyes. He knew that things that he felt for Ruri were true and more then he had ever felt for any creature, but still there was an insecurity.
“Lumière needed to be groomed, she ran well today.”. It was a poor excuse for not meeting her in the winner’s circle, but he had been too nervous to approach her with so many around. But there was none other in the stables, and Heath found courage in their solitude. In an instant he was before her, a light furred hand moving to the silver paw that dangled at her side. Reaching for hold her hand Heath knew that she would flinch, and his slow movements were meant to warn her of his boldness. In the search for the right words he watched her face, took in her scent and felt a smile teasing the corners of his mouth.“I’m sorry I didn’t stay...” his voice fading with the end of the soft spoken apology. “Did you hear the chime? “ he asked, wondering if she knew that he had put it up for her.
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