she killed it with kisses and from it she fled

Alaine Winters · 03-02-2011, 06:21 AM

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Word Count → 5+ :: table © sie

The rhythmic pace of the mare beneath her had settled Alaine in a half-awoken daze. The colliewoman had been increasingly fatigued of late, but that was expected - Now that she was the primary caretaker of three quickly growing pups, the freedom of her life had plummeted sharply. The Apothecary's entire existence now seemed to revolve around the three life forms, currently in the care of a capable packmember back at the Chien Hotel.

This was not to say that Alaine took the birth of her children as the beginning of a burden on her fragile life. Rather, even in her current state of mental and physical exhaustion, the woman was simultaneously steeped in a deliriously happy phase. The survival of her children was an intoxicant; every time she laid eyes on their soft, downy forms, the healer was overcome with fresh waves of disbelief and maternal awe.

However, the pups were demanding. They sapped her dry of energy, and although her physical health was stable, the woman had desperately needed time away from the whelps to organise and gather her own frayed thoughts. It was important to keep as clear a head as possible, as her discussion with the king had assured the Apothecary of her rank and her duty to the pack. She would be no good to them, starry-eyed and vague.

Perhaps she had finally fallen asleep on the swaying back of Nana, or perhaps her eyelids had only drifted closed for a couple of seconds, but when Alaine next opened her eyes it was to a change of scenery. The rushing sound of the ocean filled floppy ears, and pink nose twitched to the crisp scent of salt in the air. Sitting straighter on the mare's bare back (her belly was so wide that a saddle seemed unnecessary for them both, and now that she was more confidant Alaine much preferred riding without it), the cream and ivory nymph swept the fingers of one hand through her tousled auburn ringlets, the other remaining a light grip on the horse's loose leather reins.

Nana had been dawdling, but it seemed she had caught a scent on the wild ocean breeze, for suddenly her dinner-plate hooves were lifting more eagerly into the air, and Alaine was clutching at her short black mane as the large mare burst into an ungainly trot. Not used to riding at anything faster than Nana's normal plodding walk, Alaine found herself wide awake as she fought to keep her seating. Light frame bopped comically up and down on the fat broodmare's sloping back, as the bay determinedly made her way towards the scent of the creature she wished to find.

There he was - a big, handsome fella of a horse. Nana neighed in a soft welcome, her jolty gait slowing immediately to a walk, while Alaine continued to clutch like a living bur to the gentle giant's neck. Her fingers were clenched so tightly that it took her a moment to release them, and settle gingerly back onto her horse. Emerald eyes blinked in surprise at the other tacked equine, not yet noticing the tan girl sitting invisible on the other side of her steed.

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