The grey mare’s pace was brisk as she cut her way across the Commons. It was evident she was not here to linger, but had come with a purpose: to find her two wayward girls and bring them home. Her emotions were kept tightly under control for now, but she knew, she just knew that as soon as she found them, they would burst free, like a flooded river breaking its banks. Not only was she distressed because they’d vanished from the Peak - something she’d made clear for them never to do without her. But all that had transpired with Solomon too, had left her feeling happy and sad at the same time.
They had rekindled, and this filled her with hope, but it was the revelation about Kalanthia’s mother (and who she was to Solomon) that left her feeling raw. It was bittersweet, really, knowing that (like Menelik) it seemed as though the filly would grow up without her birth-mother present. But it was a comfort, in a way, knowing that she’d have a big family watching out for her. Of course, the choice would be Kalanthia’s, but in her heart, as much as she would miss the girl, Kolfinna hoped she’d spend some time in the Cove. The Peak was rather quiet these days, and for a pair of growing fillies, who became bolder and curiouser each day, it wasn’t the ideal home, especially not with Kolfinna’s desire to become more proactive.
So when she came across a trio of horses, two mares - one of them being heckled by a young stallion, the grey did pause for a moment, taking stock. Drifted closer in the darkness. From what little she could glean of them from their postures, both mares seemed capable of holding their own. But then Kolfinna caught a snippet of the stallion’s words, go get your Faline...Lagoon…you can both come, and became incensed. With a harsh sound of anger leaving her lips, she closed in, circling to plant herself in front of the stallion and the black and white mare.
"She’s going nowhere with you, nor is her child," the Peak mare growled. And how did she know? Because there was an energy to the mare that she identified with (her heart throbbed with empathy). Both of them were searching for something, and there was only one thing likely to lead them to this place in the dead of night. Something precious, and worth risking everything for.
Faline.
Calfuray.
Kalanthia.
"You..." Kolfinna trailed off, scrutinising the young stallion coldly. There was something familiar about him, like she’d seen him some place before, but she couldn’t remember where, nor did a name rise to her lips. Perhaps it was just her mind playing tricks on her, as it was wont to do sometimes, because she knew she couldn’t always trust it. There were still days, weeks even, missing from her memory. Much had come back to her, but there were some things (like Menelik’s foalhood) that had been wrenched from her for always.
Kolfinna shook the vague sense of deja vu off, and continued on, her heart growing cold and so heavy in her chest as the next words fell from her lips. "How dare you use the love of her child to threaten and manipulate!" It was a dark utterance, sharpened by the dread Kolfinna felt creeping up on her. Her two young daughters were out there somewhere, and she prayed that they were alone. If…
If one of the bachelor stallion’s kinsmen had stumbled across them first (or any other with ill intentions, stallion or mare) and something happened to them, it would be an extra burden of guilt upon her shoulders, added to that which she already carried. Much as she loved Calfuray, the daughter she had delivered herself, if misfortune befell Kalanthia before Solomon had a chance to meet her, Kolfinna would never be able to forgive herself.
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