She hadn’t been paying much attention to the adults talking nearby, but she had felt the tension and anxiety from her mother. Though she worries about her, Kæja does not try to involve herself right away; she is on the edge of adulthood, having already gone through her phase of sticking her nose in other people’s business and graduated to finding everything boring unless it involved sparring or chasing or finding a new animal. Instead of really tuning in, the russet mare grazes next to her sister, letting the words float by like little harmless clouds in a summer sky. The weather is nice today and she is feeling lazy.

At one point, however, the mood changes. Kæja had gotten the sense that, while all three were somber and serious (very boring) one of the three adults was outright sad. Her voice has been soft and indistinct, but when the mood shifts, her voice becomes alarmed, and Kæja raises her head in time to catch her mother glancing her way.

What are they talking about?

It is at this point, when Kæja’s interest is piqued by the tone of fear in the sad mare’s voice, she takes the time to actually look at the newcomer and recognition dawns. She is stricken with the warring emotions of homesickness, familiarity, and joy at seeing Kohelet again, and the deep anxiety that accompanies all reminders of the Bay.

…but to his children, too.

Kæja catches this last bit of her mother’s words, and she knows they are talking about her father.

Her heart flutters a bit, and she knows Mae is thinking of the day Fell took her away. She has never quite found out if it is truly never the right time to tell her mother what exactly happened that day, or if this is just an excuse to avoid the subject. Either way, she’s never spoken of it, and now that it’s being discussed in a group of adults without her… she can’t tell if she regrets that avoidance or is grateful for it.

Even so, something about the gravity of this little gathering compells the young mare forward. She has grown up a bit in her time in the Peak, and has also had a chance to be a filly again, so she feels a great deal less threatened by the escape of her secret. She finds the leaden weight of her tongue has lessened over the seasons, and the culmination of seeing Kohelet again, her mother’s worry, and Khar’pern’s (more than usual) stern ferocity is enough to stir it.

“Mom,” she says quietly, leaving Hyori to the patch of grass they had been battling over. She slinks over to the group, her jaws working in submission before Khar’pern more than anyone, for she is intimidated by the Peak mare. “He took me to Nyimara,” she reveals, hazel eyes glancing with some small courage at the three adults. There is hesitation in her voice, but once this first difficult part is out, the rest rushes through like a river through a broken dam. “I was too young to understand anything, but I’ve figured out some things since. He was going to foster me with her, and take her foal to the Bay, to forge an alliance, but I don’t know why. He didn’t seem to like her very much, so I don’t know why he’d want her connected to us like that.”

She takes a moment to look between the mares, eyes flicking briefly to Khar’pern before lingering between Mae and Kohelet. She wants to greet Kohelet properly, but for now, she is frozen in place, and feels very small. It takes her a moment to realize that she has left out an obvious point: Kæja had come home that same day.

“Oh, um, it obviously… didn’t work,” she continues, ears flicking with mild embarassment. “I remember… that Nyimara was very angry. I think she threatened to take me and hurt me. And… I don’t know… why he did this, but Fell put my head in his mouth. I didn’t know what it meant, but it scared me. He could have crushed—” she has to pause another moment, both horrified by and actively coaxing forward the dim memories. “I have no idea why he would do that, but it made Nyimara back off, and he took me home.”

Kæja finds herself, now, somehow exhausted. She dips her head low, her ears splayed to the sides in apology, and slinks back to the controversial patch of grass with Hyori.