This was all new for her. Such closeness and intimacy a stallion. Having a new foal to care for and protect. Being apart from her mother. Vihaan was no longer reliant on anyone but herself to look to for guidance. There was no Darshan to watch and learn from. Her mother had never imposed her ideas and beliefs upon Vihaan, but the nature of their relationship was such that Vihaan would be forever deferential. But she had no example to study and draw from, and in all that she faced in the Desert, she’d have to draw from herself. This is a kind of freedom that Vihaan had never known she’d thirsted for. At Cain’s whispered answer, assuring that he’d never leave her, a wide, vibrant smile spread across her muzzle, and she felt within her, a thrill of that same, longed for freedom.

No longer did she walk the path her mother did. Without a doubt, Vihaan’s path would meander back to her family again and again, for they were part of her. And yet… This was her family now too. Akello. Cain. Internally, she was conflicted, because there was no changing the past, and all that had been done, but here and now, her future beckoned to her so strongly. And as much as she missed the Prairie, her mother and father and sister, if she were to ask Cain for permission to leave, and he was to allow her to… There was a part of her heart that would miss the Desert and its enigmatic king with a fierceness she wouldn’t be able to tame.

Her skin prickled with heat, and Vihaan lost herself in this intimate moment shared with Cain, the instinctive maternal part of her attentive always to her newborn son. And it occurred to her, as she stood with her face turned from the black and white stallion, that she was learning as much of herself as she was of Cain. Testing herself, and trusting the stranger she’d become. Her heart wanted so much, and selfless as she was, Vihaan was greedy for the attention and devotion of the stallion who’d promised to look after her. Perhaps one day she’d think back and dwell on this realisation with shame, but, right now, there was no room within her for such an emotion.

Especially not when Cain reached for her so gently, and beckoned her with a quiet, pleading nicker to turn back to him.

The dunalino mare listened intently to Cain’s questions, copper eyes bright and watching carefully as he spoke. Vihaan felt that, even though his words were intended to draw answers from her, she could learn much of him by them. Oh, how far he’d come since their first meeting. And oh, how she had changed, too. There was no way Vihaan could comprehend Cain’s reasons for being as he had been, nor the effort it had taken him to change. She could only wonder as to why, but did not allow herself to linger in such thoughts, lest she think more of herself than she had right to. In a moment of silence, she marvelled at the change in him, and the strength he must have in him to undo all that he was, and make out of the pieces a softer, gentler soul that someone like Vihaan could not help but care deeply for.

Without a doubt, it was Cain himself who had made the change, and it would be wrong for Vihaan, or for anyone else, to think that they had any part in it. True, perhaps they had served as motivation for him, or as guides in the manner that Darshan had been to the dunalino mare. But it was Cain himself who’d made the choices, and it was Cain and only Cain that Vihaan would honour for this act of courage he’d made.

What did she want for herself? It was a deep question, really, when Vihaan thought about it. No-one had ever asked her such a thing before. Perhaps her mother had never felt the need. Darshan, focused as she was on what she wanted, always made sure that her daughter had everything she needed. Well, almost everything. And until now, Vihaan had been content with that. But the choices Darshan had made, they had impacted on Vihaan’s life. She had grown up apart from her father, not knowing her sister Everglow… And there was no way of knowing if Vihaan would’ve had these things had Darshan not left. But the pale kathiawari had left, and she had taken Vihaan with her.

"I would want…" Vihaan began, eyes narrowing in thought as she paused to piece together words that felt right. "I want only to be seen for all that I am, and acknowledged for all I could be," the dunalino said quietly, tilting her head a little in contemplation and curiosity as she watched for any reaction from her stallion to her somewhat vague and enigmatic response. "I hope only for happiness, and I dream always of peace." A smile twitches at the corners of her lips again as she reaches to touch her muzzle to Cain’s briefly, and the light in her eyes softens, a touch of melancholy lingering there for but a few moments. "I ask for nothing more than what I am found deserving of, and the strength to bear any disappointments life may bring my way." After a moment, the mare lifted her head, delicate nostrils flaring as she looked to Cain with eagerness and renewed brightness.

"And you, Cain? What is it you dream of? What do you hope for our future?" His own questions had been shaped into queries that came from the pale golden mare's heart. Vihaan was keenly aware of him now – taking in his scent, the sound of his breathing, the expression he wore, and his eyes that looked at her with such warmth. These were not the eyes of a monster. Slowly, the intuitive mare took a step forward, closing the distance between them, hungry for knowledge, yearning always for more. "What is it you want most?"

Vihaan