Common

The blue roan mare stood upon the beach; her azure eyes cast upon the Crossing Island in the distance. Angel was still there, or so she assumed, and it left a gapping hole in her chest she had not expected to grow in his absence. It was a painful feeling, knowing she had failed to protect him. She had also failed as a leader, as a Queen, although none had come forth to say such to her. She felt it in every fiber of her being.


It was as a new idea struck her, that Xiomara took to the water. Instead of the mountain set in her sights, she would go to the Commons. Perhaps there she could find a pathetic enough figure to entice the Vulcan women to let go of her stallion, in exchange for one of their own gender. They valued a mare more than a stallion, especially one they thought was in peril. Xiomara was not usually one for such diplomacy, but she had to try something to bring her friend home.


- - -


Sylke had known this day would come, although she had not said as much to Conquistador. She was not sure if he purposefully made himself blind to Rade’s shell like condition, or if he truly did not see how his brother was not truly alive. Born to the main land, the nearly white mare had never known the roan stallion to be any different, but in the whispers of the night, as her mother told her stories, Sylke knew that the man she saw was not the true Rade. Although Skylar had never spoken ill of him, the smart filly had placed the pieces together over time, knowing he had not always been good.


Oh, how she missed her mother. As her last child, Skylar had been very tentative to Sylke, but had been left weak. Without the ability to play with her daughter, she had filled her head with stories of the Islands. Especially of the Peak, and the Vulcans that lived there. So, when Rade disappeared, and Conquistador admitted to where he was going, Sylke could not help the excitement that bubbled up in her. The idea of an adventure was not such an interesting fact when heavily pregnant, but to be in a place that was close to her mother’s heart to give birth to her first child, Sylke knew she could not be left behind. No matter what.


“I need to rest.” Sylke murmured to her stallion as they pulled themselves from the water, her golden eyes heavily lidded from the exhaustion that crept through her bones. She reached out her ebony nose to brush it along his tawny hip, drawing comfort from his scent despite the harsh salty smell clinging to them both. The sights and smells of the Crossing was a bit overwhelming, and the soon to be mother tried to block it all out and solely focus on him until she had recovered some.


- - -


As Xiomara pulled herself up onto the shore of the commons, she cast her gaze across the open land. At first she did not spot anyone that would fit her agenda, so she ventured further inland to graze and keep an eye out for anyone that may fit what she was looking for. Thankfully, she did not have to wait long. When she first spotted the golden stallion, she did not pay much attention to him. It wasn’t a male she was looking for anyways. But when the pregnant mare soon followed him from the water’s grasp, Xiomara raised her head and perked her ears intently. This might just work, but who should she claim? They had both come together, and the exhaustion that showed on the mare meant they had to have swam further than any of the islands. To take such great risk, the mare must be willing to follow the stallion anywhere, so Xiomara’s best bet, would be to claim him.


Muscles gathering beneath blue flesh, Xiomara pushed herself into a powerful trot towards the duo. She did not care if the stallion perceived her as a threat, because in a way, the mare was. As the warrioress drew nearer, she buried her ears beneath knotted black mane and arched her neck much like a stallion would do. She only slowed her gait as she drew up along side him, her pale lips parting as she reached over and grazed her blunt teeth across his pale withers. “You’re now property of the Shore.” she barked out, turning to drive them both as if he were as much of a mare as Sylke was.