There was a part of her that was pleased to see that despite his age and frail appearance, the crotchety old bloke was still just as full of piss and vinegar as he ever was. So even as Fallo shot back with a well-timed insult of his own, Vita Nova couldn't hide the simper of a smile that tugged at the corner of her whiskered lips. Her grey ears swiveled back against her poll momentarily, but she snorted once as if to signal a respectable "touché".
Despite their strange and rollercoaster-like past, it was good to see him. There was a warmth in familiarity, and even a sense of nostalgia for the memories she shared with the boxy grey stud. He'd never been particularly kind to her - well, maybe one or twice, though she knew he'd never admit that out loud - and it was true that their random coupling caused her more strife than bliss... but there was something about the beast you know versus... yadda yadda, or however the saying goes.
Fallo's reappearance among the islands couldn't have come at a more alarming time, too. Vita Nova was stressed. She was in charge of a whole territory these days and she had no idea what she was doing. And she was mad at Warsaw. She couldn't trust him. Despite Fallo's misgivings, and there were many of them, she wanted to trust him. Plus Vita Nova was older these days. Wiser, too. She'd lived through some shit. Maybe the timing of this wasn't just some big coincidence.
She watched behind her bright blue eyes as the draft mare and the Lagoon Boss continue to squabble over Fallo and where he was headed next. Vita Nova had to give the mare credit - she was quite fierce, having no trouble standing up to Cullen and putting the squat cream-colored stud in his place. But alliances were important, she mused, so she held back from giving him a piece of her mind, too. Vita Nova had no idea if Cullen knew what had happened in the Inlet - that Warsaw had been stripped of his title not once, but twice, by mares. She wasn't so sure if the sexist Lagoon Boss could bring himself to continue an alliance with a territory now run by the dam of Warsaw's children. But nevertheless, she might need him one day.
"A lot has changed, Fallo." Vita Nova spoke with the casual flick of her silver tail. "Mares are in charge all over the place these days."
She eyed him now, waiting for the crass insults to drip from his lips.
"Actually, I might have a place for you in the Inlet." She offered, cocking her petite head to one side as she gauged his interest. "No strings attached. You can come and go as you please. And you don't have to sell your soul to this bachelor or become someone's pet."
She'd hoped she could convince him to return to Tinuvel with her. There he'd have food and shelter, and the benefits of being part of a herd. And Vita Nova would have someone wise to confide in... and maybe rekindle something long enough to make Warsaw pay for the way he'd treated her.
Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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