Muddy River — The Shape of Dreams

The sound of laughter erupting from Caedwyn at her antics made her heart swell with joy. It was music to hear ears, hearing him happy and laughing. He had always been the serious type, or the prankster type really, so to hear him open up so freely to her gave her an insight to what being with Caedwyn might truly be like. It made her excited. As she leaned on him and gave him a big sloppy kiss (her silly exaggerate attempt at grooming him) and he paused, she pulled back to examine his reaction. His laughing had come to an abrupt halt and he stared at her with a serious expression on his face. She had drawn back herself, but her expression was anything but serious. A grin spread ear to ear across her muzzle, waiting for him to explode either with exasperation or another bout of laughter.  Sure enough, he broke into laughter once more, and Enya joined him, giggling and laughing alongside him with pure joy. He teased her through his laughter and Enya's own laugh grew louder, her head turning slightly to the side to give him a side-eye through her grin. The banter was refreshing. It was nice being able to go back and forth with someone. She could dish it, but she could take the teasing just as well, and here Caedwyn was finally, finally treating her like an equal. He wasn't afraid to say the wrong thing - or so it seemed. "Old!" she blurted out as he proclaimed such a statement, even with his exaggeration. She, with her front legs still wrapped around his neck, leaned in towards him to whisper into his ear, "So that was the problem. I understand now." She quickly moved to lick him in the face once more before pulling away and dropping her grip around his neck, quickly trying to prance away through the water before he could retaliate against her. She knew it wasn't the truth, but she was trying desperately to bring humor around to the situation they had endured together before.  Before she could escape to the shore, she was stopped as she felt a strange pulling at the waters they stood in. It wasn't her magic... then she remembered when she'd first encountered Caedwyn out in the fields before. She turned to smirk at him before shifting her eyes to admire the small droplets of water as they rose up and shined under the stars and moonlight above. How romantic she mused inwardly just as the water droplets were shifted towards her and dropped across her body. They didn't simply melt away on her guard hairs, however. They pressed deep into her undercoat and ran through the cracks and crevices between her scales, giving her a more thorough cleaning. She shivered as a tickle ran through her body involuntarily, not used to such a sensation coming from anyone other than herself.  He stepped out onto the bank and like a magnet, Enya was there beside him, pressing herself against his side once again. She had craved physical affection for months upon months now. While it was just the two of them, while they were encased underneath a beautiful cloud-free night with stars and the moon shining down on them with the warm summer air wrapping her gentle arms around them, she intended to fulfil her cravings. Speaking of cravings, Caedwyn mentioned food and Enya nodded her head along eagerly, though there was a touch of exhaustion creeping up in her steps and the way she held her posture. The day had been long and emotionally taxing, and the excitement of the situation was slowly leaving her - that and all the running and playing they had done had certainly added onto her feeling of weariness. "I could use a midnight snack" she mused as she leaned into Caedwyn, letting him lead her along to wherever he pleased. "What did you have in mind?" she started, lifting her muzzle to nip beneath his chin, "Perhaps some rabbit? Or maybe you've got a buck stashed away for the end of this elaborately planned date? Or! Are you doing fresh catch from the creek?" She yawned as she finished her guessing, smacking her lips together at the end of it.  "Speech."