Siobhan didn't know how much she had needed this. This simple back and forth between peers. Even as they discussed matters that were clearly more important than they seemed on the surface, she did not feel the same reluctance she had been fearing for months. She had missed this.

As the sunlight shines forth from the golden girl with the lightening of her mood, Siobhan reflects it with a laugh of her own that crinkles the edges of her eyes. She had not minded being the only mother here in the Ridge, but it was nice to think that her coming child would have a playmate of their own to spend the days with. Surely the girls would adore having multiple babies to watch over and play with, if their encounter with Iscariot was any indication. To know once more that there was someone else with whom she could confide in the uniquely female aspects of motherhood was a blessing and she couldn't help but nurture that small flame of hope that Çiçek had lit in her breast.

The spotted mare sobers quickly however, and it is clear that there is more on her mind. Sioban's expression clears as she studies her for a long moment, calmly acquiescing to her request for closeness. Clearly there was something she did not want the jungle around them to know. Concern clouded her brow, but she remained quiet as the words tumble between them.

As she mentions Tinuvel, Siobhan's hide gives an involuntary shudder at the thought of the bitterly cold island and it's newest ruler. Gratefully she latched onto the intrigue that Çiçek shares, glad to have any distraction from the looming face of her once-lover. She did not know the ruler of the Cove beyond the far away glance that she'd had of him upon his arrival, and therefore is forced to base her entire opinion of the man on the words that she shares. Clearly whatever had passed between them had been deeper than just a casual fling if she was so conflicted by the promise she had made to him, and the red mare steps neatly across the remaining distance that separates them to press a reassuring touch to the mare's shoulder. Whatever the burden was, Sio would not let her bear it alone.

Çiçek shares the actual details of her promise and Siobhan falls silent, considering them. In a traditional herd, she imagined such a thing would be unheard of. Certainly she couldn't imagine telling Bjorn or Diarmaid that she was planning to go live with another stallion for a time. Even Ailill would likely have some objections to such a deal. But the Ridge was no longer made up of a traditional herd structure. It was not a stallion who ruled at the helm of the land, who would be accustomed to the privilege of breeding any mare that he so chose within his herd.

Instead, a pair of mares controlled this herd. And they were hardly equipped to provide Çiçek with a child, even if she had asked them.

Still, the fact that there was a Tinuvel stallion out there that had enough pull to be able to come visit the golden mare with the approval of the leaders, and not only cover her but also extract a promise from her lips suggested that he was not some casual fling. Siobhan had never possessed the confidence to seek out a stranger for a child, and she recognized something similar in the golden mare. Children were important, and not to be taken on lightly.

She can see the way that Çiçek looks at her for a response, but there is nothing that rises easily to her pale lips. No amount of platitudes would ever be enough to knit two halves of a heart together when they were determined to be apart, but there was no condemnation on her face. Like Çiçek, Siobhan was torn between two different worlds. Two halves of herself. The comfortable past, where she knew Bjorn and his emotions and his love, and the terrifying future of a life with Ailill, wherein she could put down the childish games.

The quiet stretches until Çiçek breaks it again with her exasperation and Siobhan grins before nodding. "It shouldn't be too much longer, I don't think. Although I'd wager if you are experiencing everything else, I won't be the only one with a new baby come spring." She waits quietly for a moment before her expression softens. "I don't know you well yet, but I've been a mother long enough that I think I'm a fair judge of character," her smile broadens and her head tilts slightly in emphasis. "I think you'll be a great mother, Çiçek."

After a moment of quiet thinking, Siobhan continues. "And if for some reason it is not your year, it sounds like you have a chance next year." Her ears flick back as she raises her gaze to meet Çiçek's again. She can feel the emotion radiating from the mare at her side, and while a sort of morbid curiosity burns within her to find out if she is not the only one tormented with a fragmented heart, she cannot bring herself to ask if the golden mare loved her Cove stallion. There was no reason to rub salt in the wound if she did, or did not.

"For what it is worth, I think Faolain at least will respect the decision was yours to make." Sio pauses uncertainly for a moment, not sure why she felt so strongly that this was the case. It was true that the black Teke had offered for Siobhan to stay or go, but as a new usurping leader, that was to be expected. Would Faolain offer the same sort of tolerance for the golden mare to follow her heart?

After a long moment in which she grows somber, Siobhan adds quietly, "after all, sometimes your heart will do the choosing for you."