finally learn. To finally do what his heart and mind had been driving him to do ever since he was a youngling.
Rollin closed her mouth and looked down at her fan. The air made the hairs in her shaggy white eyebrows dance as if they were alive.
Please-oh-please-oh-please
. . .
Rollin shook her head, but when she lifted it back up to look at him, she was smiling. “Tell you what, Basic. You can start by finding me some grub. Real grub. I have special teeth for eating the grass the four-feets like, but I’ve got a craving for meat. You find me some of that, and I’ll teach your little heart to pieces.”
Hoku grinned so wide that he thought his face might split in two.
“You want mustard on that?”
A LUNA MANAGED to get most of the debris out of the horse’s mane and tail before it grew too restless to stand still. The whole while, she talked to it. Mostly about the City of Shifting Tides and her family. She hadn’t intended to talk about her father — she was happiest when she never even thought about him — but the desert had apparently made her soft. Sometimes she almost missed the sad, faraway look in his eyes.
“There,” Aluna said. “The worst is out. You need to stop rolling around in garbage.”
The horse snorted and lifted its chin defiantly.
“Oh, I’m only being silly,” she said quickly. “Roll around in whatever you want. There’s not a lot to do out here in the middle of nowhere, unless killing scorpions counts. One of those little desert shrimps almost got me yesterday.”
The horse lowered its head and huffed. Aluna was starting to get a sense of its moods. This one meant, “I’m still a little irked, but not really mad.”
“I need to come back here with a brush,” she said. The horse glowered. Aluna added, “If you want to be brushed, of course. I know what it’s like to be groomed against your will.”
The horse shoved her head against Aluna’s arm and nibbled on her tunic, right near a huge stain acquired somewhere during their trek from Mirage. Aluna had somehow forgotten that she, too, was filthy. The sun had crept slowly across the sky and now hung centimeters above the distant mountains. She had very little time to get back to the tent and clean herself up before the Darkest Night celebration began.
“I’ve got to go.” She dragged a hand along the horse’s shaggy neck and marveled again at the feel of its coat beneath her hand. “Come with me? There’s room in our tent. You can even sleep there if you want. Hoku and Calli won’t mind.”
The horse whinnied and stepped back nervously.
“I’m not going to force you,” Aluna said. “I won’t ever make you do something you don’t want to do. Just think about it, okay?”
The horse’s tail swished as it considered. Finally it shook its head. Still no.
Aluna considered skipping the evening’s celebration to stay with the horse. She could find a brush, or maybe even convince the horse to take her for a ride. But it would be polite to participate in the Shining Moon’s celebration — even the Kampii had special rituals for the one night a month when the moon disappeared from the sky.
Still, nothing could make her forget about Dash. The entire settlement would be enjoying the festivities tonight, and she wasn’t sure if her spirit could pretend to be that light. Maybe she could make an appearance and then slip off to find Dash. He shouldn’t be alone.
She turned to the horse. It seemed to know that Aluna was planning something; it slitted its eyes while it stared at her, much as Hoku sometimes did. The two of them would probably get along great.
“I’ll find you again,” she told the horse. “If you let me?”
The horse huffed and nodded and stamped a hoof in the sand.
Aluna bowed to it, turned, and headed back. She only turned around once, to see if the horse was following. It wasn’t. In fact, it had completely disappeared.
Equians bustled through the settlement’s streets as she made her
Rollin closed her mouth and looked down at her fan. The air made the hairs in her shaggy white eyebrows dance as if they were alive.
Please-oh-please-oh-please
. . .
Rollin shook her head, but when she lifted it back up to look at him, she was smiling. “Tell you what, Basic. You can start by finding me some grub. Real grub. I have special teeth for eating the grass the four-feets like, but I’ve got a craving for meat. You find me some of that, and I’ll teach your little heart to pieces.”
Hoku grinned so wide that he thought his face might split in two.
“You want mustard on that?”
A LUNA MANAGED to get most of the debris out of the horse’s mane and tail before it grew too restless to stand still. The whole while, she talked to it. Mostly about the City of Shifting Tides and her family. She hadn’t intended to talk about her father — she was happiest when she never even thought about him — but the desert had apparently made her soft. Sometimes she almost missed the sad, faraway look in his eyes.
“There,” Aluna said. “The worst is out. You need to stop rolling around in garbage.”
The horse snorted and lifted its chin defiantly.
“Oh, I’m only being silly,” she said quickly. “Roll around in whatever you want. There’s not a lot to do out here in the middle of nowhere, unless killing scorpions counts. One of those little desert shrimps almost got me yesterday.”
The horse lowered its head and huffed. Aluna was starting to get a sense of its moods. This one meant, “I’m still a little irked, but not really mad.”
“I need to come back here with a brush,” she said. The horse glowered. Aluna added, “If you want to be brushed, of course. I know what it’s like to be groomed against your will.”
The horse shoved her head against Aluna’s arm and nibbled on her tunic, right near a huge stain acquired somewhere during their trek from Mirage. Aluna had somehow forgotten that she, too, was filthy. The sun had crept slowly across the sky and now hung centimeters above the distant mountains. She had very little time to get back to the tent and clean herself up before the Darkest Night celebration began.
“I’ve got to go.” She dragged a hand along the horse’s shaggy neck and marveled again at the feel of its coat beneath her hand. “Come with me? There’s room in our tent. You can even sleep there if you want. Hoku and Calli won’t mind.”
The horse whinnied and stepped back nervously.
“I’m not going to force you,” Aluna said. “I won’t ever make you do something you don’t want to do. Just think about it, okay?”
The horse’s tail swished as it considered. Finally it shook its head. Still no.
Aluna considered skipping the evening’s celebration to stay with the horse. She could find a brush, or maybe even convince the horse to take her for a ride. But it would be polite to participate in the Shining Moon’s celebration — even the Kampii had special rituals for the one night a month when the moon disappeared from the sky.
Still, nothing could make her forget about Dash. The entire settlement would be enjoying the festivities tonight, and she wasn’t sure if her spirit could pretend to be that light. Maybe she could make an appearance and then slip off to find Dash. He shouldn’t be alone.
She turned to the horse. It seemed to know that Aluna was planning something; it slitted its eyes while it stared at her, much as Hoku sometimes did. The two of them would probably get along great.
“I’ll find you again,” she told the horse. “If you let me?”
The horse huffed and nodded and stamped a hoof in the sand.
Aluna bowed to it, turned, and headed back. She only turned around once, to see if the horse was following. It wasn’t. In fact, it had completely disappeared.
Equians bustled through the settlement’s streets as she made her
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