Xina can see the recognition right before her name is breathed out, a sound she would never wish to hear him say again. The name that she was blessed with at birth was now a curse, something she never wished to hear again. But it was a calling she was given, good or bad and too many years had passed for her to answer to anything else. Yet she does not answer Rade, her silence stretching out and becoming heavier with each beat of her shattered heart. Instead she simply stares at him as he speaks, weighting each word and its worth. Only when he is finished, the concern crossing his face as he speaks of her wellbeing that she turns her cold gaze from him and to the boy.


“The boy is no better off with you than he is alone. Though I would find it entertaining if he were to try and make you a mare.” A humorless smirk drifted across her face before disappearing, her eyes rising to the beast once more. She wondered then if Rade had come seeking his father in these lands or if it was of any mare to care for the child in the home he was raised in. It was obvious by the ribs upon the child he would not last much longer in the condition he was in should nothing be done. Xina was even slightly impressed by the strength he had shown to swim but she would never show nor speak of such a feeling.


It is then that the mare steps closer, ears pinning in warning at Rade should he try and stop her as she lowers her head to reach her muzzle out to the golden child. Nares breathing in his salt stained scent she does not smell sickness upon him which is a good sign. He still had a chance to live even if he was malnourished. Xina knew what she must do despite the ache in her heart each time she looked at the child, as if her own wasn’t reminder enough of the father.


“Consider yourself relieved of his well keeping, Rade. You would make a poor mother anyways” Xina said as she raised her head to look at what she once would have thought a boy. The harsh lines that would only grow deeper with time were well suited for his handsome face but the snake within did not go unnoticed from her sharp gaze. “I will make him strong. He will survive.”