The silence between them felt like an eternity. But it confirmed what Vita Nova already knew --- Koray did not see her as desirable, nor did he find comfort in her company in the least bit. She breathed a heavy, deflated sigh and allowed her gaze to drift elsewhere. She was done being on the receiving end of his hardened stare, of his pinned ears and of the muscles that bunched under his light skin. When Koray finally began to talk Nova shifted her weight slightly in the sand and looked back at him. She'd seen the horses he described as his family, but Nova had never interacted with them. She was surprised to hear that his mother was deaf, and that he just assumed she already knew this. It seemed even more peculiar that Orhan would abandon a mare in such a state. Perhaps the buckskin stallion trusted his son more than he let on. Or perhaps Carisa was more able-bodied than Nova was giving her credit for.
When Koray described his sister as a "troublemaker" Nova did her best to suppress a snort. It seemed Koray was surrounded by strong-willed mares, and was constantly paranoid about it. She wanted to laugh then, but knew it was best to just let him amble on. So when Koray looked at her with a serious glare, asking for her help, she took a while to weigh her options. Nova's ears were pinned lazily underneath a bed of grey mane. There was no way she would allow Koray to keep her here against her will. But she wasn't sure if this was the best time to challenge him. Perhaps if she seemed obedient now, as she had expressed earlier, it would be easier to get what she wanted from him later. But still, she could not hide her displeasure with the way he barked out these new orders. "Yes. I will do my best to babysit your family." She hissed, deciding it was best for him to know that even though she was compliant, she was not pleased. "I intend to visit my family in the Dunes and in the Prairie on occasion. Your father had a fine working relationship with my brother. I don't see how continuing these relations could be a hindrance to you." She spat, hoping to keep the door open at least to Luthien. She wanted to know she'd always have Shamwari to fall back on, if she did indeed decide it was better for her to flee from Koray one day.
"Perhaps I can introduce you two some day." She suggested with the flick of her wavy dark tail. But her tone had gone bland. After she'd had foolishly reached out to Koray in a somewhat affectionate way, only to be turned down, she knew the best and only way to operate with the pale stallion going forward would be in a transactional way. Nova was willing to aid him in his endeavors if it did, in fact, aid her in some way, be it in the short-term or long-term. When their relationship was no longer mutually beneficial, Nova had no qualms about abandoning him the way Nephilim had so easily abandoned her.
Perhaps Vita Nova was growing up, after all.
4 | Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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