Oh, how her heart broke for him.

She stood quietly as slowly, slowly, Cain opened up before her. It was beautiful in a way, despite the tragedy that he spoke of, and the pain and hesitation that coloured his tone. It reminded Vihaan of the journeys through the deserts she had made with her mother. How there were plants that were nothing but dried twigs, by all appearances dead… But like a miracle, they unfurled after even the briefest of rainfalls, sending out green shoots, so fragile and yet capable of surviving in even the harshest of environments… That was Cain. Starved of love, thirsting for purpose. With her breath catching in her throat, Vihaan pulled her head up, taking a careful step back (ensuring that she was nowhere close to harming their tiny, beautiful son) and circling around to stand beside Cain.

She moved slowly, considering all that Cain had just said, and drawing on her own observations, but here in the Desert and back on the Crossing. He’d proven cautious when others drew close, and had seemed to respond only to pain. Vihaan would never hurt him. Once upon a time, in fear and ferocity, she had wanted to make him bleed, but now that she knew him, cared for him… With a gentle sigh, she reached to nose softly at his cheek, starting out slow and small. In the moments that followed, if Cain would allow her, she would gradually lean into his side, starting with their shoulders. Just a gentle brush to begin with, and if that was alright, she’d shift her position so that the contact there would remain.

“Cain, I…" Overcome by a wave of intense emotion, Vihaan’s voice broke, and she choked on a dry sob. “I’m so sorry." The dunalino could not even begin to imagine what that must have been like. Though she’d grown up largely apart from her father, she’d been convinced of his love. And Darshan… There was nothing Darshan wouldn’t do for her. And she tried… She tried to imagine what her life would be like, how she wold have turned out, if she’d had nothing, no-one who cared. It was such a miserable thing to consider, and Vihaan shook her head gently, clearing the dark thoughts away. Her chest felt so tight, so constricted, like she couldn’t breathe. In a rare moment of weakness, Vihaan trembled, and pressed her muzzle to Cain’s two-toned skin, inhaling his scent, and feeling it calming her.

And instinctively, she leaned into him now without reservation, needing comfort, wanting to comfort in return. “I don’t – I never want you to feel that way again," she murmured softly, closing her eyes as she drew in a steadying breath. “What do you want to feel? I," Vihaan began, hesitating only for the briefest of moments. “I want you to feel safe." Silence and stillness. The mare shifted her weight, settling comfortably beside the black and white stallion, completely at ease, as though this were natural for her. “Cain, I want you to feel… To know that you – you have become someone so important to me."

Vihaan