Heartbeat Passage Ch. 02

He had no substance to back up his words and sighed, letting his hand drop to his side. What good could he do? She was facing the disappearance of her entire race while the greatest problem he faced was his score in his next exam. His life paled in comparison.

To his surprise, Celeste shuffled closer, stretching her legs out to the side furthest away from him to ease in beside the chair, her head on the same level of his with a bit of a stretch. Though sadness rimmed her gaze, there was a softness to the orbs that he had not seen before. Instinctively, for it felt like the only right thing to do, he stroked the length of her face, from the base of her horn to between her flaring nostrils. She snorted and pushed into his touch.

"At least I was able to meet you, Christian." She breathed over his cheek, peering down the length of her muzzle at him. She had to turn her head to the side to see him clearly. "You're special. You make me want to fight even harder for the lives of my herd."

Blushing, he dropped a kiss on her nose, hand gliding down the silken underside of her white-grey neck. Celeste nudged her forehead up against Christian's as they forgot their reading and breathed in each another's scents. His partner's headpiece caught on his hair but Christian could not find it in himself to untangle it. The moment was too pure, a dream solidified, to spoil. The aroma of aged books enveloped them and Christian inhaled Celeste's sweet scent: hay, wildflowers and a dab of the equine that made him want to curl into her and stay in the crook of her legs until the sun slipped below the horizon.

Drawing back enough to look her in the eye, Christian kissed her dished cheek, too shy to see if she would accept a kiss on the lips.

"Let's speak of something a bit happier," he suggested. "I want to see you smile again."

Christian brushed her forelock to the side and winked, looking into her sidelong eye as she whinnied, tail flicking. It was tricky to tell what the tail motions meant but he hoped that her swish was from agreement and not prolonged stress or restlessness. He would learn sooner or later, he was sure.

"Perhaps you'd like to hear about my herd?"

"Of course!"

The unicorn turned the page in her book, bringing up an aptly placed unicorn with her head bowed towards a nude male companion. Christian kindly averted his eyes.

"We have fewer unicorns in the herd than we used to, having left for greener pastures. Our homes are on one level as a general rule and mine is the largest in the village at the present time."

Celeste's chest puffed out and she gave a little toss of her head.

"We do have a library of sorts in my home too, though we do not record histories and stories as you do. They are books on magic and teaching that we record." She set her horn aglow. "For passing this on to the next generation and ensuring that any magic users who come across them in future years are able to take knowledge from them as we do."

"It sounds like you are renowned in your herd, if you have a library in your own home!" Christian could not deny that he was impressed. "How did that come to be? Why do these books reside with you?"

The unicorn shrugged, head rolling rather than her shoulders, which were tucked too close to her body to allow the motion.

"It is potentially my position in the herd. My home is the safest place to store them at present. It's nothing more than that."

"In fact," she added, as if struck by a sudden afterthought. "My position in the herd hierarchy is more elevated than I have permitted you to know, in all truth of the matter. Only my sire and dam are higher than me."

"Are you the princess of the herd then?" Christian asked with a wink, fingers tracing over the pages of his book as his mind moved on to the next question he wanted to ask of the stunning mare.

"Precisely."

Christian's eyes widened and, while he was still digesting the casually imparted information, Celeste nuzzled underneath his chin, careful to keep her horn from smacking him in the face. On autopilot, Christian stroked her cheek, touching her skin with the impression of his fingertips in a feather-light caress. Celeste nickered and scooted in closer, beans in the sofa perch crunching beneath the shift of her body.

"Christian, I have many questions to ask of you," she murmured. "Would you be so kind as to indulge me, now that you know some of my home? I've watching you for so long, there is so much I want to know."

Could he ever refuse her? Settling himself, Christian smiled to himself, placing each fingertip against its fellow from the opposite hand as Celeste verbally attacked him, a light glow of magic surrounding her body as excitement got the better of her. Words ran into their companions as he did his best to answer each and every one of her curiosities, from his home life to the world he had grown up in. It was going to be a long evening; it was too easy to talk to the unicorn.

And talk they did.