she is used to Kuraz wandering, though the colt is always exceptionally careful not to worry her. it was hard at first, to be parted with him at all… just like it had been to let Kune out her sight for even a moment, but he is growing. He had been robbed of so much already, Božena knows… she could not live with herself if his playful curiosity had been stolen or dampened by fear. She had been lucky, back in the vlast to have enjoyed a wonderful childhood. Though her rodina had been strict, careful with her safety, she had been free to roam with her bratry. she only wished she had more time to accompany him on his little trips but life as the prime minister proved busy.

it is lucky, she knows, that her time is so occupied. it keeps her mind trained on necessity, keeping the rodina safe, keeping kuraz safe, strategizing… at the end of the day, when the colt is warm against her side, her body and mind are so tired that her heart has no chance to crack open and spill thoughts of its own.

the great black sentinel watches carefully, as usual, pacing the little cliffside trail that winds itself up and down the mountain. dark eyes study the lower trails, the open meadows, searching for any sign of a threat… the most imminent is always the prospect of retaliation from the Lagoon. the other threats are not so much to the peak as a whole, but to the fragile peace she had achieved personally.

there is a note of something in Kuraz’s voice that frightens her, urgency if not panic, and the huge mare moves deftly toward the sound of his voice. she had learned long ago that it served no one to rush mindlessly down the dangerous paths of loose stones and earth, it would only result in injury or death. luckily the mare is well acquainted with each of the narrow trails and moves with some amount of speed despite her carefulness. her body has grown even harder, leaner, in the years past, laced with blunt grey scars. she has no use for beauty any more.

when she rounds the corner, eager beyond all measure suddenly to see Kuraz’s small form unharmed, to see the piece of her own soul he protected still intact, the towering mare stops in her tracks, snorting softly. more of her breath leaves her as the colt hurls himself against her chest. distracted by the warmth he brings, his healing touch, she lowers her neck around him, closing her dark eyes in an effort to steel herself for what comes next.

he leaves her side too soon, before she was ready, and Božena finds herself taking an unbalanced step as she lifts her head, taking an extra moment to compose herself before opening her soft dark eyes. her gaze immediately falls on Kunžak. the sight of him unsettles her, splinters and cracks the protective shield she had built up as if it were nothing. we belong to each other. Kuraz pleads. though she wants nothing more than to turn away, to careen back up the mountain to a place where she can ignore everything, she cannot deny him.

Kune steps forward, and as if they were dancing, Božena takes one tiny step back, her body tense. blood pounds in her ears as all the feelings she had walled out so long ago come lurching back. pain. guilt. sadness. loss.

the kladruby’s ears flick back and forward again as she processes it all, but at the sound of his voice, her desire to flee breaks. he does not wilt under the weight of her eyes, as he once might have, but his voice is tenuous. her eyes glance back toward the colt who stands beside them before returning to the tall black figure who had once captivated all her thoughts… she cannot think of the right words, because only broken-ness lies between them now, but she grasps at something. ”he found me too…. “

worry chokes her then, her eyes widening with the fear that kuraz might abandon her if kune were to leave again. ”will you stay? for now at least?” she asks breathlessly, as it is easy to ask under the guise of pleasing her adopted child… she would do anything for the colt… but the shattered part of her soul that she had entrusted to kune some time ago trembles with the hope of being rebuilt.