There is a brief moment where Fell’s chest squeezes, the sensation of panicked fingers clutching his heart with a death grip. He is anxious of this moment, of Kohelet uncovering more about his tumultuous family history, connecting the notoriety of his blood with his tangible person. His skin jumps with every tick of Kohelet’s beautiful dark face as realization washes over her — but the disgust, the punishment, does not come.

Once, beneath the waterfall in the early winter, when Kohelet was pregnant with Fell’s first child, the Marwari stallion had made the grave error of retaliating against violence that never actually came. He remembers this uncomfortable moment, and forces himself to relax, to not flinch away as the questions come pouring out. He watches Kohelet with an expression of unmasked worry, but it is for different reasons than the anxiety mirrored in her own expression.

Fell nods curtly in response to her first question, and then again to her second, but he pauses for the third. Is she coming after you? He wishes he could explain the entire complexity of the situation — that Nyimara does not know of his alliance (ragged as it was) with Solomon, or even that Fell was on Tinuvel at all. Had she known, it was possible she would come for them, but not an inevitability. If Fell could avoid his sister altogether, that would be ideal, but the second best option would be to simply avoid her bad side. If he could maintain a bare minimum relationship with her and stay out of her way, she might leave the Bay alone.

It was not certain. It was never certain.

In the end, Fell shakes his head, but he knows his hesitation has spoken volumes. Not yet. She is not after us… yet.

The anticipation and anxiety that have come over him begin to sour as he imagines a life of avoiding the wrath of his sister. It is not sustainable, and Fell does not want to live his life on any one else’s terms. He slams a front hoof suddenly into the earth, frustration and anger diluting any fear until it is no longer detectible. He circles Kohelet again, protectively, his ears pinned angrily in his dark mane. The idea of confronting Nyimara and getting the violence over with occurs to him, but as much as he wishes to grab that idea and run with it, he sets it carefully aside. He would have to think. Fighting his sister is more likely to backfire than accomplish anything. Making a deal with her is a better possibility, but Fell has nothing to offer.

He would have to think.

He settles next to Kohelet again and simmers silently.

FELL

stallion. 16hh. black. marwari x. Rougaru x visurix.