Dock only trembled at the reactions her sisters gave. They could be horrified and grievous all they wished but for Dock all she could recall were the events she’d been forced to face. Each memory that flickered through her mind like the sputter of a flame on a candlewick only made her shake harder as more tears raced hot down her cheeks to the grass below. She leaned her weight more sharply into Hickere and pressed her cheek against Dickere so that each breath she drew in smelled of her sisters and nothing else. So that she couldn’t smell him and his lust tangled with her fear. So that she couldn’t smell the blood and feel the ache and pain that came with it.

The snort distracted all three of the girls. Dock went rigid and stopped breathing. Hickere and Dickere lifted their dished skulls from their sister and turned their necks to see Lyden. For a moment none of them moved and none of them answered. While Dock had disappeared both Hickere and Dickere had been quite active and frequent throughout the Forest. They’d always lingered near the herd, knowing it was dangerous to venture off alone, and had begun to enjoy themselves in this territory. Unfortunately neither had a true heart-to-heart with either Lyden or Braylen. Perhaps that was to be expected as stallions were busy and had other priorities to attend to. What did they matter except to be more numbers added to the herd? But still – because of the business their stallion’s had faced it meant neither of them really knew Lyden. If this was as it was at home the moment he learned the truth he would have driven Dock to the ocean and then punished both Dickere and Hickere for not coming to him sooner.

But what could they say? How could they protect their sister? The truth was obvious once one was close enough to see the damage in bruises and scrapes – or at least he’d know she’d been in some sort of scuffle. Even if the seed didn’t catch and a foal wasn’t formed in Dock’s womb the truth would always be there…

Dickere’s eyes swept back down to her sisters hide and she gently pressed her muzzle to the cream, pale skin, careful not to do so in a tender spot where there was a bruise or a wound. Hickere shifted, not taking her weight from Dock so that her sister would know she was still there, but enough that her main focus could be on Lyden. Her black-tipped ears were forward, but Hickere was wary. Wary of what was to come.

“Dock was missing for a few days.” She admitted into the stillness of the night. “We… We were afraid you would be cross if we told you.” It sounded silly to say but they were only fillies, young and scared and new. They couldn’t know that things could be so different here. “Dock’s come home tonight, only…” Hickere’s voice was raw with emotion but the further she continued the more it begun to tremble. The words caught in her throat and her nostrils flared.

“She was raped.” Dickere spat angrily – not at Lyden, but at the world. Guilt was crushing her heavily, knowing that if she’d only said something sooner, this may not have happened to her sister. Her eyes, holding a fire in them for the protectiveness she felt, flashed to Lyden and held there firmly. She expected no less than for him to pin his ears and charge them, to tear them apart and drive her sister from her. It was what she was used to, it was life as she understood it.

Dock trembled and closed her eyes, her head still low as she continued to try and hide between her sisters.