Stepping away from the loosely-clustered group, Impa did not turn to look at Anath until she’d moved a few lengths away from the others. Her intent was not to speak in secret with the General, but to give everyone their own space for conversation. Impa wouldn’t mind if they were joined by another, but she hoped the two of them would be left alone long enough for Anath and her to have a conversation. Ever since Anath had blown up in front of a few new mares and insulted Impa, the draft mare hadn’t spent more than a few moments in the company of the abrasive General. But she’d had a lot of time to think about the situation since then, and had been fairly busy the past few weeks: the memory had faded and become unimportant. If Anath saw no value in a horse who was not arrogant or prideful, then that was her opinion. They didn’t have to agree on everything.

She glanced toward her friend and smiled. This, at least, Impa hoped her friend would consider worthwhile and back her up on. The champagne mare would be a powerful ally and a formidable opponent. Impa hoped that all of the Peak mares would be: this idea was not one she planned to carry out with only the General’s knowledge. She pressed her hooves into the ground and glanced back at the group, her dark eye landing on Mouse. Her grulla friend was not the only mare on the Islands who had been forcebred, and while Impa did not personally know of anyone else who’d suffered such a misfortune, she was determined to seek out the victims and learn the names of the perpetrators of such crimes. It was grand that the Peak mares refused the monitoring of any stallion, but they could do so much more with their freedom than bask in it, and she was determined to launch a movement against the abuse of others.

The black mare swung her head back toward Anath. “Styrke was just the first,” she said once she was certain she had her friend’s full attention. “But there are others out there, I’m sure, who are suffering. And Aliyana—” Impa’s gaze dropped and she frowned, and when she continued again it was with a lowered voice. “Aliyana defended Styrke even after I told her what he’d done. I am afraid for the mares who live in herds and think that’s just the way life is, and I intend to do something about it. I want these islands to know that one mare, at least, is going to take a stand against such vile behavior.” She tipped her head to the left to peer at Anath with her good eye, and a smile hung on her lips. “Though I’d rather there were at least two of us, and hopefully more.” Impa indicated the herd with a toss of her nose and pointed her ears at Anath, anticipating a positive response but tempering her hope with the more realistic expectation of hard words and perhaps mockery.