She wasn’t left alone long, which was good. Oswin did not want to stand on the shores of the Bay with only her thoughts. She lifted her head, perking white ears as the black stallion and her gray sister made their way down toward her. To see Kolfinna smiling and unharmed helped put Oswin at further ease, she showed a smile herself, looking briefly once more at the Bay lead and noting there was no aggression in him. Perhaps this was going to go better than she had hoped.

Oswin was happy to greet Kolfinna, breathing her scent deep and sighing with relief to know she was at least physically okay. With an unknown stallion who attacked the Peak, the sisters were often targets for aggression from stallions wanting to “fix” their ideas that they could be independent. Oswin was happy to see it didn’t seem like Kolfinna had been subjected to such treatment.

The questions Kolfinna asked shouldn’t have been difficult to answer, and Oswin did not want her sister worrying when she already had so much to focus on. She smiled and dipped her head, answering, “Our General is well,” it may have not been a total lie, though Oswin knew Roísín was not well… at least not emotionally. What had losing a sister to a herd stallion done to her after their already frayed relationship took its dive? Still, especially where the coal-black stallion could hear her, Oswin decided to lie and pretend things at the Peak were perfectly fine. When Kolfinna came home later (and yes, it was when and not if) she could learn the truth of how quiet and desolate and sad the Peak was becoming.

Unless Oswin could find other mares to live there and change that… but that was a thought that didn’t belong here. She refocused on Kolfinna as the mare asked after Saul and smiled warmly. This answer was true, “Saul is doing okay, he misses his mother of course.” She added, barely holding herself back from watching the stallion when she said it to see if he had any guilt on him for what he’d done.

At this point, Oswin noticed a blue mare approaching, and lifted her head to quietly watch. After the mare spoke it struck Oswin a little funnily like Klara had been when she had gone to confront Rafe, the Badlands stallion. Since she was more receptive than Klara’s pointed, angry words had been, Oswin dipped her head and spoke to the mare. “Your stallion challenged the Peak and took my sister away.” She explained in a level tone, and was secretly proud of herself for being able to do so. In her youth she would have never managed to keep her head cool. There was a reason her coat was freckled with the scars of battles past.

“I came to see if he intended to release her if she wanted to leave and return to the Peak, or if he is a stallion who holds mares against their will.” Her voice dropped, and despite wanting to maintain a calm air, Oswin could never help the irritation that crawled into her tone at even the thought of encountering someone like that. Her eyes inevitably moved to the dark stallion, still not realizing he couldn’t speak for himself… and then…

“He can’t talk.” A little fillies’ voice piped up and Oswin snorted in surprise, lifting her head up and noticing a very pale young girl moving up toward the group. She smiled at Fell, blinked at the two mares standing with him, then looked back at the gold and white one standing on the beach. “It’s like how my mom can’t see. She has her eyes, but they never worked for her.”

Ah, the bluntness of children.

Oswin smiled patiently, nodding a little at the girl, then smiled apologetically at the stallion. “I see.” She said carefully, looking back at the painted mare to gauge her continued reaction to everything that had transpired.

The pale filly bumped her nose against Fell’s shoulder and clicked her barely grown-in baby teeth gently at him. Oswin chose for it to be a good sign that the girl didn’t fear approaching this group nor this supposedly silent stallion.

oswin
this is as brave as I know how to be.
I know it’s gonna hurt you, but please… be a little proud of me.