Common

She stands like a delicately carved statue in the wake of her demanding cry, dark tail aloft and the elegant bow of her neck drawn into a dainty arch. She doubted that she would find another stallion that complimented her as well as Rougaru did, but she refused to dwell on what she had lost. In the end, if the first to claim her proved to be unsuitable, she knew she could find herself someone better if she had to. She didn't like being at square one again, but it was almost freeing in a way.

No one had to know who she had been, or what she had went through. They didn't need to know about her two defected children, nor about the other, older disappointments she had raised. For the first time in a long time, she was unencumbered by her past.

The quick staccato of fast-approaching hoofbeats draw her attention, but the ready-made smirk on her lips died as recognition flared to life in her eyes. "You!" Vanya's voice had dropped into a seething snarl as Titania paced closer and she oriented to follow her with ears pinned tightly against her poll. Titania's place was at Vanya's heel, and it was only Rougaru's defection that had allowed her the freedom to escape. If the silver maned stallion had been where he was supposed to be, Drogon would not have dared to return from Salem empty-handed despite how much he reeked of the little black hussy's scent.

But Rougaru was gone, and Drogon no longer answered to her. Left without a way to cage Rille's leftovers, Vanya had decided to ignore her for now. Once she had secured herself a new home and a new stallion to win over, she would return for Titania's head. Or rather, she planned to send someone else for her head. Vanya was blessed with beauty and brains in abundance, but physical prowess had never been within her grasp. She loathed the thought of scars marring her coat, and took no pleasure in the sensation of physical pain... with a few, rare exceptions.

Vanya was not dumb enough to assume she could take on the little black mare in a fair fight, and so as Titania rushed forward with jaws agape, the roan squealed and began to backpedal. Blunt teeth grasped at her flesh, too quickly for her to prevent entirely, and tore her skin as she yanked away, white now ringing her eyes. Unused to real combat, the roan tried her best to stay close to Titania, whirling her forehand away so that they stood head-to-tail with each other instead. Vanya's mind spun as she tried to figure out how to turn this situation to her advantage; she knew that she could not win a battle, and that Rougaru would not be here to come to her rescue. Without someone to save her, her best chance of survival (for she had no doubt in her mind that Titania meant to kill her today, in retribution for all that Vanya had done) was to stall Titania until help arrived.

"No one misses you," she taunted breathlessly, and then parted her jaws to take a reciprocating chunk out of the star-speckled mare. However, before she made contact, Vanya caught sight of the flashy grullo stallion heading their way and latched onto an entirely separate plan.

She could not beat Titania, but maybe he could.

The transformation from defiant queen to cowed victim was as sudden as it was complete, from the way Vanya's expression softened from anger to fear, and to the way that she rushed to press herself child-like against the stallion's far side, her body quivering against his. Ducking her head against his neck, she peered back at Titania with a sheen of tears already forming in her eyes. "Please," she murmured to him, her voice strained. "Help me! I don't know what she wants!"

Which was about as bald of a lie as she could manage to pull off successfully, given that Titania had left no doubts as to her opponent's intentions.