Time was fickle. The few heartbeats counting the moments seemed to stretch on forever as she waited agonizingly for any sort of response. With every beat, Adelheid could feel her heart sink deeper into the ice chill she had cultivated for her own protection.

Why would Iris have wanted to stay? There had been nothing but snarls and snaps. Adelheid’s rough nature unyielding, her harshness apparent with every lash of her tongue. Very few had ever seen her kinder side, her children taking her words for what they were and laughing in glee at her sarcastic complaints. The shining moments of tenderness between mother and children were all but hidden to the world. Instead, her love was masked by her protective nature, and her teeth seeking to tear at any who dared challenge the safety of those she had sworn to protect. Iris, she was sure, received much of the brunt of her harshness. When the other mare seemed to be more of a danger to herself than any other outside forces, their arguments were harsh and cutting. Their silences moreso. Each moment, Adelheid truly wanted nothing more than to reach out to the mare, dry her tears, and vow to be there for her, even though she had been the ones to call those tears forth.

Time stretched, and uncertainty started to creep into the Vulcan’s consciousness. Iris surely had left. She had family on the islands, others who were easier to get along with. Some who would have eased her pain with kind words instead of a cold shoulder. There had to have been someone, somewhere, who would have sheltered her from pain. That someone would not have been Adelheid.

The dark mare sighed, at last letting her proud head fall, just and inch, in acceptance that Iris had moved on. Or if she had not, that she had at least stepped away from her companionship. As she should. the friesian blooded mare thought venomously to herself, beginning to pace the clearing. She did not get more than four steps into her stewing before the sounds of hooves against stone brought her out of the impending abyss.

Relief rushed to her faster than Iris’s speckled body, making her lose herself in a light headed wonder. Before she could stop herself, her face pressed against the other mare’s neck, breathing in her scent and fighting back tears herself. As fast as her relief struck, something else hit her stomach with a wild blow. Her stomach turned as she pulled away, her ears flattened at her own inner confusion. A snort came from her nose as she stepped away. Dark blue eyes looked up and down Iris, her tongue held hard between her teeth.

You stayed? She asked, attempting to cut her hopeful disbelief with the razor edge of her voice. Blinking, she tried desperately to cool her rampaging emotions. Why?

It took all the effort Adelheid had to keep her body from shaking, to stand as poised as she ever did. She had spent her time off the island thinking deep about her desire. The flicker of fire she always felt when she was in the presence of the blaneted mare. Her heart clenched with desire at being that warmth for her as well. Fighting herself, she took a breath, hoping, wishing, and waiting to hear why Iris had stayed, and what the mare would want from her. She saw the tears, she yearned to smooth them away, not knowing why they were falling from Iris’s beautiful eyes. Already, Adelheid braced herself again, preparing for some form of breaking disappointment.