Swiftcurrent Creek Pulcinella

The sensation of touch made her uncomfortable. Before she had learned love she had learned pain. Her mother's kiss would have pushed her into the murk and mire of the bloody bog had things gone as Moss had planned, so in the end, she was fortunate to have made an acquaintance with pain before ever experiencing pleasure. Her gaze broadened but she remained rooted in place as the man touched the crown of her head. She wondered if he would grab her by her scalp and carry her somewhere else; her surrogate had been gentle and sweet but even she could not erase Cygnet's earliest memories. 

Like a colt broken with cruelty, she'd learned not to fight back though she had to fight off the white noise coming from somewhere deep within her ears. The touch ended soon enough though she remained still for a few moments, as though she hadn't heard his suggestion at all. The spell only lifted when the breeze tickled her nose and she narrowed her gaze to see a dandelion seed danced across the bridge of her muzzle. It flew up, and away- and she looked back to Arric as if with light surprise he was still there.