It took a long moment for Cain’s words to fully register. Someone had challenged for her? Ironclad had challenged for her? He had seemed so laid back when she spent time with him on Tinuvel. It seemed out of character for him, though Cerosi quickly realized there was no way she could truly know him from their brief conversation. Her ears swept back into her silver mane and she stared at Cain’s wounds. Her anger had stumbled over the information that this was Ironclad’s doing, but it was growing again. Though she was still primarily angry on Cain’s behalf, she was also coping with sadness and disappointment. Rage was easier to feel, so she poured her frustrations into it instead of dealing with the fact that someone she had begun to consider a friend had hurt someone she cared about.

And he hadn’t even asked her.

”I had no idea,” she said, her eyes lifting now to Cain’s face. ”I’m so sorry.” She did not know what else to say. Her anger did not have an outlet, and as much as she preferred to feel spicy and defiant, the heat fizzled out and she was left with guilt instead.

Unsure of how to deal with the conflicting emotions surrounding Ironclad’s challenge, Cerosi felt herself withdrawing. Would Cain be angry with her? Would Ironclad challenge again? She no longer felt so ready to explore the islands as she had before. Maybe it was just safer to stay here, in the Desert, where she didn’t draw the eyes of greedy stallions. Punishing teeth and hooves often followed those eyes, and Cerosi was certain it was not worth the risk; at least not alone.

At the thought of being trapped, even in a place she enjoyed, her anger flared up again and she buried her ears in her mane once. She would not let any stallion dictate what she could or could not do, and she was lucky to have Cain to help her defend her freedom; but Cain did not deserve to be hurt for it. ”I hope Ironclad learned his lesson,” she hissed through clenched teeth. ”I wish I had been here to see it.” Later, when she calmed down, Cerosi would feel the emotional exhaustion from the rapid cycling of feelings, like being dizzy from spinning around in a circle. She intended to stay close to Cain in the meantime, if he let her; the tobiano stallion provided her with a sense of stability that she desperately needed in the midst of her mental turmoil.