Unicorns

She resolved to stop speaking to people, when she was out on her walks. The looks were bad enough, and the sotto-voce comments she was forced to ignore. But it was the silly questions that she could no longer face.

“Who do you think you are?” asked a pompous man, in a trilby. It would require either a long answer or none at all, but since he had stormed off as soon as he had spat out his question, she was relieved that the former was unnecessary. Honestly, you’d think she was parading down the street topless, the way some people went on.

“I don’t know what you think your game is,” an older woman said, her hair in curlers and hidden by a scarf. “But I’ll be on to the authorities. You can’t keep something like that in town.” Fortuna was fairly certain there was no by-law specific to the situation, but she was sure the woman would try to make trouble; her sort always do.

Children weren’t as bad. “Where did you find it?” they asked Fortuna, as they stroked Primrose’s muzzle. It was safe to let them do so; the innocent had nothing to fear, of course. Teens and adults were a different problem. It simply wasn’t safe to let them approach a unicorn too closely.

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  1. Eolas PellorMarch 24, 2024 at 9:24 PM

    She resolved to stop speaking to people, when she was out on her walks. The looks were bad enough, and the sotto-voce comments she was forced to ignore. But it was the silly questions that she could no longer face.

    “Who do you think you are?” asked a pompous man, in a trilby. It would require either a long answer or none at all, but since he had stormed off as soon as he had spat out his question, she was relieved that the former was unnecessary. Honestly, you’d think she was parading down the street topless, the way some people went on.

    “I don’t know what you think your game is,” an older woman said, her hair in curlers and hidden by a scarf. “But I’ll be on to the authorities. You can’t keep something like that in town.” Fortuna was fairly certain there was no by-law specific to the situation, but she was sure the woman would try to make trouble; her sort always do.

    Children weren’t as bad. “Where did you find it?” they asked Fortuna, as they stroked Primrose’s muzzle. It was safe to let them do so; the innocent had nothing to fear, of course. Teens and adults were a different problem. It simply wasn’t safe to let them approach a unicorn too closely.

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