"I don't know." she said. It felt weird to say those words. She usually had an answer for everything, but not today. K1A1 was a hard woman to please. It's not like they could send her out to battle. The Inlet herd was usually very peaceful, they couldn't be going out making enemies. Besides, women fighting for anything other than experience or a good time was frowned upon by their society. Mares were meant to stay at home while the stallions fought over them, raided their homes and tried to steal them away. On top of all that, she wasn't going to let K1A1 go out and get herself into trouble. They needed her here, in case anything happened.

In a way, Freya felt like she was failing as queen in more ways than one. She previously mentioned feeling inadequate if she was unable to bear a child for Dogun. Now another thing was added to her list: being unable to keep her herd - their herd - content within the Inlet's borders. That was her job, after all - to keep them together and keep them satisfied with their lives here. And she couldn't even do that, one of the simplest tasks of all. What did that say about her as a lead mare? It said she was a failure.

Pushing the thoughts away, Freya turns her eyes to Dogun. "She's hard to please. I wish I had a simple answer or solution, but I don't." She frowned, but then something came to her, and her eyes lit up. "Wait. I think I have an idea." She said, lips drawing upwards into a half-smile. "We could gather the herd and have K1A1 help train anyone who wants to learn to fight. They could spar together. That might keep K1A1 happy, and it would give the others some valuable experience." She shrugged her shoulders. It was worth a shot, wasn't it?

Of course, they couldn't force K1A1 to stay if she absolutely didn't want to. Freya couldn't bring herself to do that. Just knowing one of her family was miserable would make her miserable in turn. Her heart would break for them. She just couldn't. If K1A1 really wanted to leave, she would let her, and not think twice about it. But would Dogun? Could Dogun let her go just as easily? She had never thought to ask, never given it much contemplation.

For the second time in mere minutes, Freya finds herself pushing unpleasant thoughts away. She forces herself to smile and change the topic to something more... pleasing. "Let's talk about other things. What's on your mind, love?"

five. georgian grande. bay dun roan sabino
lead mare of the inlet. no children. pippa.