Harlequin had never meant to love him. Not that she was quite sure what love was. Sure vaguely she remembered the knitting of her family group in Tinuvel and the fondness with which Soljor and CUA had gazed upon one another when they thought the foals were not watching. But even that, that was not quite love. Not that she was sure. Care. Yes, she cared deeply for Cain. Despite the fight and anger that had colored their first encounter, when first he had forced her away from the main island and to the hot dusty desert. She had despised him then, searched for ways to get under his skin and use the grace and agility of her body to taunt and frustrate him.

At what point their relationship shifted to something more companionable, Harlequin was not quite sure. Perhaps it was when they had spent countless hours lost beneath the passion and heat of their coupling, or even the laborious birth of Twinge when Cain had met them with a broad grin and eyes bursting with pride. Perhaps it was simply in the small day to day working of the herd when the occasional flip of a tail or twitch of an ear was enough to bring a sense of reassurance. She had expected him to bark back at her as she met his even gaze at Galexia’s claim. Somewhere deep down she had half expected him to snap at her to mind her own business when she implied as nonchalantly as possible that he ought to go after the sand colored mare that fled back to Luthien. However that change in their relationship had brought upon care, and that care allowed them something more akin to friendship. That had managed to plant a seed of loyalty in her that she did not expect.

However it was not just to Cain. Vihaan’s disappearance and Geneva’s death had dismantled their herd. While she did what she could to ensure that as a whole they were safe from the wolves and dangerous snakes that all too often took shelter beneath the overhanging rocks, there was still a gap that had grown between them all. Their herd could not function properly without a lead mare. Were Vihaan still here, Harlequin would gladly have settled into the guidance of the pale woman when Cain found elsewhere drawing his attention. From the sad hanging of his head and the heaviness in which his tail dragged, she felt certain that for now, that would not happen.

Not unless she did something about it.

A mischievous smile plays upon her lips as she tears a mouthful of grass and chews contemplatively. Though she doubted there was much that she could do that Cain had not already done but still. Maybe….

However that was a different time and matter. Instead it was time to act now. A harsh snort blast past her lips as she lifts her small head and releases a resounding bugle. Dark sweeping gaze stretches over the oasis where the herd spent most of their days gazing in languid peace. If she was to continue to be the Desert’s guardian, she was determined to see them together and rebuild the small herd again. Dark ears perk amid the tangle of back and white mane as she calls the herd to her. It was time they brought themselves together. ”Come herd of the Desert. To me.” she voices, searching the swaying branches for the first to approach.