Shipwrecked and Lost {Open} {SprE}

He had not traveled these parts in many many moons; not since he had lost his son and taken the fillies all to his own. But after meeting Anahel and her horse...what was her horse's name again? He was so wrapped up in Anahel that he had forgotten to remember. Laylah. Laylah was the horse's name. He missed the bond he had shared with horses; the ability to race them, the ability to run free with them. They did not seem to judge him as harshly as humans did; they accepted that he was different and in some respects reveled in it; because he could not only be a part of their herd but also command them in ways a regular stallion might not be able to. And so, when Anahel had left him once more to go into town...he thought it best to travel a little deeper into the wilderness, to at least get a peak at what remained of the wild horse herds.
Still in his vest, he moved swiftly between the trees toward the lands. He could smell the most mares in heat there; remnants perhaps of long ago, but none the less, he would not be greeted with a challenge as he smelled less stallion's amongst the smells. He really did not want to explain to Anahel why he had a hoof print shaped bruise on his chest and a broken rib or two. He only intended to watch, to mingle a little perhaps.
He closed his eyes and drew in a breath; he could smell the salty air radiating from the smell of a mare. Something drew him closer to it, some will to see beyond just the horizon. He knew he would not be met at first with kindness, most likely. Many creatures did not know how to take him at first. And so he stayed back a ways as he finally laid his eyes upon her, a pretty little paint mare the likes he had only seen once in his lifetime. His heart seemed to leap into his throat...could it be? Could it be a descendant of that one mare that had made him almost stay? The defiant little filly he had never known her name, only ever called her Temptress?
But no, as the fae lifted her head, scenting the area, she had an entirely different body structure. Her coloration was similar, her rump, however perfect it was, was similar...but she was built differently. More full, than the scrawny little fae he had known in these parts. His horse speech was rusty, but he would try none the less. Slowly he approached; four hooves hitting the ground in a steady pace but the sounds they made perhaps a little different to the wary ear because of his weight distribution. A soft whinny escaped him as he approached, seeing the cold shiver that came through her body. He quickened his pace as his hands worked, unbuttoning the one button on his vest as he came up beside her and laid it upon her shoulders. It was of course not enough to cover her; but perhaps it might prevent as much heat as was being stolen from her escaping her body. As he spoke, it was gentle and melodic; trying his best to structure his horse speech properly.
"What sorrow ails you, ..." His voice paused, almost calling her angel. He already had his angel though, she was getting them supplies in town. "precious?" It was the only word that would come to mind in horse speech that he remembered well enough to say; otherwise he could very badly damage the encounter by calling her a turnip or a doughnut.

He was both relived a a little surprised by her reaction to him; she did not seem to care that he was a half breed of some sort, though she did have a look of confusion on her face. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. She was gentle, much like he remembered the mare to be. She had been strong willed, but she had been gentle in all respects. It only made him want to know this mare more. He reached down and brushed a strand of her mane back behind her ear that had been shaken loose by when she had shaken her body to release more of the water.
She asked him who he was, and he couldn't help but laugh. Judging by the look in her eyes, it was more a question of what he was, then who he was.
"Ay, fair maiden. I am neither human or horse, but a little of both. I am known as Harlan Borias Ares; though most now call me Ares."
He glanced toward where her sorrow filled eyes had looked when she spoke of the shipwreck and her brother. His heart went out to her, and he figured Anahel and him might be able to help find her brother, or at least send Layla out to scout and help with the process.
"The island is a strange one, that is for sure. Firefly Falls is the name of the town, I believe the island shares the same name."
He had never learned the name of the island to be anything else, though he had not ever paid much attention to it either. He gave a small shrug of the shoulders.
"And what of you, fair maiden? What shall I call thee?"

He ran a hand through his hair and looked over the fae, he could see how wet she was. He could see how tired she was. He didn't know what she had been through, or even what her brother was like that she had lost. From the exhaustion on her face, she couldn't tell much of anything. He didn't know how to comfort her about her brother; it had been so long since he'd have family besides Anahel...If she was getting back, she would be worried. He eyed her as he spoke, seeing how barely awake she was. She needed rest, at the very least. The only moment that there was a question on his face was when she spoke of her name. Athena? As in...no, it couldn't be. Not the goddess that his father had spoken ill of all those years ago. She was too beautiful for that, she was too perfect for that. Wise yes, but there didn't seem an ill bone in her body.
He smiled to her, but he could see how weak the fae was. He lowered himself to his knees, and then to his haunches.
"My lady, you must be tired from all this wet, come, I will carry you elsewhere. All you need do is walk on your back hooves."
He glanced up to her and smiled, waving his two hands toward his back so that she might step over him and he would haul her to a better place, a more comfortable place.
"Once you have rested, we can go search for your brother."

He had lived here for hundreds of moons now, he knew every rock and blade of grass that covered the land; even with the storm bending it. He had seen the island nearly ravaged, he had been here before the people came. He was a loner, and always would be-but that didn't mean that every bone in his body had to be cruel. Somewhere deep down, which Anahel had found, was a heart. He couldn't leave this mare to be abused by the elements, or by whatever bastard stallion might come along and force her into his herd. He worried for her, even in the short time that he had met her and knelt down now before her...if she was so trusting, what is to say she wouldn't have trusted the wrong person? What's to say...he wasn't the wrong person? He frowned, but hoped she did not see it.
Once she had draped herself over him, he stood. He reached behind her and with the strength of neither just a horse or of a weightbuilder, he held her just behind her shoulders onto his back as he moved forward, one step at a time as he adjusted to the weight. Besides Anahel, it had been a while since he had carried anything on his back.

He moved swiftly but carefully, away from the grasslands and toward the forest. There was a thicket of trees he would take her to, where they would be hidden from the elements quite nicely without being at risk for attracting lightning by standing under a tall tree. It would be dark in there, but perhaps he could make them a small fire to warm the mare, if he could find enough dry kindling.
"Do you know much of your namesake, Lady Athena?'
He was curious what stories had been told and passed down about the goddess that he had an inside look at to her demented and twisted ways.

For as heavy a load as she was, he still walked lightly and quickly, into the thicket with only a few strides. It was a little dark with the storm clouds above, but they could still see each other's faces plainly. He knelt down as he listened to her answer his question, getting down onto his knees and haunches so that she could easily get down. He let his hands fall to his sides, and he shook his head as a dog might to shake the water free. He had never personally met Athena, so he could not say whether the stories were true or not...but he had heard far different stories from his father. He wouldn't push the matter though. She'd already been through significant trauma and lost her brother, he didn't need to get angry and upset her over her namesake.
"Ay, she was supposed to be the goddess of wisdom so that was a good choice."
He shivered slightly as he stood there, partly from the shock of kneeling after carrying the weight and partly just because his human skin was overly sensitive to the cold.
"Ay, a soothsayer is what I remember them being called. They've had many names through the centuries I would imagine..."
As she got off of him, he stood to his full height again.
"Would a fire be welcome, to warm you?"

He smiled to her as she spoke, telling him of her lineage as he nodded to her request of the fire. She was a beautiful and darling mare that he hoped he could help, and at least keep her safe until she found somewhere else to go. While he felt deeply connected to Anahel, the mare and him shared a common ancestor, or at least common history, that he had not found in many many moons. He had to at least make sure the mare was protected until she could be protected by someone else.
He left the small thicket, looking for whatever dry logs he could and leaving the mare for a few moments with her thoughts, him lost in his own. If the mare decided to join him for now, would Anahel be angry with him? Would she find it disgusting that he was beginning to harbor feelings of friendship or want of the mare with the common history? It did not make him desire Anahel any less...but there was only so much of him that she could take, and he had to be gentle with her human body. He shook his crown-now was not the time to be thinking of such things.
Finding what he needed, he made his way back inside the thicket, whistling gently so she knew that it was him approaching. He piled the twigs and logs he had found in the center on a dry patch, and began rubbing a stick between his hands to start a spark and set the fire going. He looked across the cave to here.
"Come next to me, we can keep each other warm."
His attention turned back to starting the fire, but he continued to speak.
"My form; that of a centaur, is of the same respect-generally there are only male centaurs. My mother was the only female centaur ever to have existed in recorded history, and it was only by the grace of Aphrodite. May their souls all rest in peace."
He would not bore her with the explanation of his immortality, or the fact that he was technically a demi-god. If there had been fire around already, perhaps he could harness it to start the fire...but just as he was growing frustrated with it, the spark occured. Willing his powers to surface, the spark made the fire roar into life fully.

“It’s fine ,sleep my lady ,I will keep watch.”
He was lost in his thoughts after that, gazing to the mare but a moment before he looked out toward the terrain. He had seen the world ravaged by so much, and yet it was still the most peaceful place he had ever known. Time seemed not to change this place for anything. The dew still collected on the trees in the same fashion, the grass still smelled the same as before. The only thing that had changed was the people. Now he had to hide, now he has to pretend he didn’t exist and was a figment of people’s imagination. Except for this mare here and Annahel, they seemed to accept him for what he was and ask no more of him. He smiled at the simplicity of it all, and thought maybe...just maybe things were changing for the better. Differences were no longer such a feat to conquer. At least in this frame of existence, it seemed.