It was a tense moment, as Mouse stared down the Friesian mare and Skylar gave Osprey further protection by pushing her backward. She was unsure why Skraeling would have been so protective, when the Peak was known to most as a sanctuary amongst mares. Yes, they needed to defend themselves, but their primary target was the male population of the island, and even then it was typically those who had threatened them in some way. Like Styrke, she thought. She wondered if Impa had found him, and what she had done, and if Skylar knew of anything that her father had done.

Finally, the other mare spoke, giving the weak excuse that Skylar smelled of a male. Before Mouse could give her retort that it didn’t matter because she knew the painted roan, the larger mare had turned back and made for the border of the Peak. When the grulla could no longer see or smell the strange mare, she faced Skylar again, who was still standing in front of Osprey. She attempted to smile, but the situation had left her feeling tense. The last confrontation she had witnessed had triggered painful flashbacks, and she had not even been directly involved. Slowly, relief was spreading through her after successfully avoiding another such flashback.

Meanwhile, her newborn was calmly standing behind Skylar, quietly observing the interaction. It had only mildly intimidated her, for she was still not aware of what had occurred. And now that the threat was gone, all that was on her mind was what these two beings were. The fact that she could distinguish that there were two, and that there were different, was slightly unusual. But it was what it was, and she knew that the darker one meant food, but she could not figure out the purpose of the lighter one, the one who had pushed her back. Osprey stepped forward and pushed her nose into Skylar’s side, then wrinkled her nose. It was not that the other figure smelled bad, just different. It was something that did not exist here. This she already knew.

Mouse watched her daughter interact with her half-sister, still a bit on edge but growing more relaxed by the minute. Eventually she lifted her eyes from Osprey and met the amber gaze of Skylar, smiling a bit more now. “So. You decided to come back. I hope you’ll stay, at least for a while.” Her words were genuine. She held nothing against the child, for no one was able to choose their father, and she had to admit that despite Styrke’s flaws he had managed to raise a very fine daughter.