Ooc: t/w vague mention of s/a

It takes everything in Vanya to not react the moment she realized that Rougaru's scent was fresh on the trail upon which they walked, now sharper and more intense than when she'd passed by only minutes ago. She had trusted that he would be there when she needed him, and he had not disappointed her. Still, Vanya knows that in doing this, she will obliterate any chance of making a friend in the galaxy coated mare, and that, in doing this, she is likely condemning the mare to the same sort of misery she'd felt the first time she'd lived beneath Rougaru's claim.

But the payoff, she hoped, would be worth it this time.

Vanya had already begun to position herself as useful to the herd, and as a leader that could be approached if a problem arose… not that they often did within the borders of Paradise. Now, with Titania, she will have proven to Rougaru that just because she could not fight like Monster could, did not mean that she would not go to battle on behalf of her King.

They pace together, the two beauties, until they have passed beyond the wolf-king's waiting place, and soon Titania begins to call for the daughter that Vanya most certainly had not seen. Vanya notices him approach only because she is looking for it. Even more than herself, Rougaru has mastered the deep depths of the jungle and knows best how to utilize the darkness to his advantage. As he steps towards them, Vanya steps back. Not far, not away, just enough to discourage the pretty speckled mare from making a run for it if she was so inclined. Vanya couldn't stop her alone - judging from the rippling musculature over Titania's lithe frame - but she could serve as a deterrent.

Vanya watches with no small amount of surprise as her would-be friend dashes forward with violent intent, and does not bother to hide the smirk of satisfaction that rises to her lips. Hopefully, Titania would put a few good marks on him that she could tend to later… just to rub in her success all the more.

My Queen has done very well for herself… Rougaru all but purrs and she favors him with a vicious smile and a flick of her silken black tail. Vanya doesn't dare keep her eyes off of Titania for long no matter how much she'd love to bask in the glow of his approval. With the revelation of her position and therefore her betrayal, she would not put it past Titania to retaliate. After all, it wasn't Rougaru that had forced her into Paradise this time.

At Titania's hiss of surprise, Vanya nods slightly in answer, and forces a smirk to her lips. Even with the balm of Rougaru's pride and the accolades this capture would afford her, she could not entirely ignore the growing sense of guilt in her chest. Titania had believed in her. Had allowed her to escape when she'd believed that escape was not only necessary but impossible. Even upon meeting the ballerina at the edge of the very land she'd once been imprisoned in, Titania had been ready to risk it all for the woman she considered a friend.

And Vaya had willingly betrayed her.

"His Queen." She affirms, her voice steel edged. Tipping her head gently, and forcing a malicious smile that portrayed far more confidence than she felt, Vanya drove the blade in deeper in the hopes that the pain of this betrayal would hurt enough to keep her compliant. "And now yours too, my friend. Welcome back to Paradise."

Thankfully, Vanya is saved from having to smoothly transition them from one scene to the next. Already her new herdmate has decided that of the two leaders Vanya was the lesser threat and had turned her venom onto Rougaru. The slender ballerina watched bemusedly (and just a little possessively) as Titania lit into her handsome silver lover again and demanded to know where her daughter was. As far as Vanya knew, Cressida did not live among the rest of the herd, but she wasn't sure if Rougaru knew where she did live. Either way, even if he didn't, Vanya would let him make the strategic decision on whether or not to continue lying to Titania.

It wouldn't matter in the end. Wherever Cressida had ended up was where she would continue to be for now as Titania certainly wasn't going anywhere.

"Should I leave the two of you alone to… work it out?" She drawls suggestively, her words sharply edged despite the dulcet tone she uttered them in. Jealousy came easily to the slender queen, and while she would not say that she was fond of the idea of what Rougaru might get up to if left alone with Titania, Vanya also knew who he would rest beside tonight. As it was, she had no intention of sticking around to watch the aftermath of such a scenario, given that the last time she had tried to fight the beast herself, she had ended up carrying Vivienne.

Still, she is not entirely heartless. It may be cold and shriveled, buried beneath a thick wall of ice, but she did have a heart in there somewhere. Titania may not be her friend, not really, but she might have been, if things had gone different. And so Vanya raises her dished face and offers a respite thinly veiled in imperious command, if Titania was inclined to take it. "Or would you rather come with me and reacquaint yourself with your new herdmates? I'm sure our daughter would love to meet you."