Word Count → 5+
His response did little to ease the sinking feeling deep inside of her, but for the male's sake, she smiled thinly. Alaine did not know his sister, but something had been set in motion here, and she could see the slight bruising on his jaw.
However, it seemed that the years of mental age he wore so well melted away when the woman held out the rope towards him. His heavy, tired eyes seemed gold as the sun once more, and for the glimpse of joy that she saw within them, there was a small pang of recognition for the king she could have loved. It was so difficult to spread happiness these days. As he reached to take the rope from her, Ezekiel also passed her the small collection of rainbow-hued books. In truth, the books were little pleasure for her, but Elijah had the strangest adoration of the brazenly colorful images held in print on their pages. She had given him the last book Ezekiel had handed to them, and the boy had spent an hour or more simply staring at its cover.
Allowing the rope to slide free of her fingers, she retrieved a small length of twine from inside Elijah's saddlebag, and tied it about the books to hold them together. Meanwhile, floppy ears were listening to the sounds of the man and the stallion. He spoke with the magic tongue once more, and though thoroughly curious, Alaine did not wish to seem amazed by this strange display. She had heard of individuals being able to speak the language of the beasts, and had even met a female who did likewise, once. Nana had begun listening to the conversation between her son and Zeke, but soon allowed her small ears to flop in disinterest. It was not for her to meddle between the bond that would hopefully form between them.
Slotting the books next to her son in the small leather bag, Alaine straightened, her emerald eyes returning to the male in time to see his slight frown. Her expression became concrete - The trade was done, and he would have to accept her generosity if he wished for her trust. It was a selfish gift that she had imparted him with - The stallion would enable his visits between Inferni and Cour des Miracles to be more frequent, and thus her children would see more of their kin.
The healer accepted his gratitude with a small nod. "We are not far from the border; The forest ends soon after that. You may return with me as my guest, but be warned - The coyotes have a reputation beyond their borders." She did not need to tell him that it would be best for him to remain unobtrusive in her home. Although the muttpack was in alliance with Inferni, their trusts was a different matter entirely. The colliewoman gazed at him curiously, recalling the strange conversation the male had had with the stallion. "Will you ride?" As far as she knew, the brute had never been ridden before, and he was indeed a powerful creature.
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