Dock never thought herself the sort to be able to lie, but when Evaline commented as to the silence that had befallen the Prairie, she said and did nothing to refute it. If any of the others wanted to speak of a young stallion that’d come to the Prairie over a year ago, they could. Given the peaceful lull over the Prairie, she doubted it would be so. Better to bury the event. It could only crop of every so often, only because of what he’d said to her… she was getting better at pushing it all away, or so she thought.
With her blue-eyed gaze regarding Evaline, Dock watched as the mare’s gaze fell to Calder at her hind. There was no mistaking the expression on her face and, immediately, Dock became guarded. She did not suspect Evaline would do anything harmful toward any of Valentine’s children, but both Calder and Oswin meant the world to Dock and she would fight for them in a heartbeat. When it became clear Evaline was only looking at the colt with coldness but not acting on whatever mood shift she’d suffered, Dock relaxed, just somewhat. She still puzzled as to the palomino’s reaction and Calder, who had swallowed under that scrutinizing gaze, had withdrawn just a fraction of a step in nervousness.
“I don’t believe I met him.” Dock replied, though she paid keen attention to the slight shifts in Evaline’s behavior. She didn’t know the mare well enough to understand exactly what emotions she was displaying (or trying not to display), but Dock was an expert in trying to hide her own feelings. Evaline came across as… agitated, to say the least. Was Shamwari a son of Valentine’s? Their first child, perhaps? Why had she gone to check in on him? Did he live on the islands? Likely not, if she was gone for so long.
Dock warred with the thought of asking Evaline any question to the matter, or even sympathizing with her, but ultimately decided it wasn’t her place. She may have slowly begun to warm up to the other mares in the Prairie, but Evaline remained a stranger to her and the mare’s dominant personality would always make Dock inadvertently wary.
Still, she should make an attempt, she knew, to show kindness. She wanted to, she wasn’t an entirely cold mare, but there seemed to be a wall between the two of them… maybe it would only be a matter of time before it crumbled, for better or for worse. For now, Dock felt as though she were walking on eggshells, picking everything she said carefully, and waiting for the palomino to snap and show her more aggressive side.
“I hope he was doing well, then.” Evaline hadn’t said whether or not she found him, and by the way she spoke Dock assumed she’d met up with her son and found herself spending more time with him than she’d intended.
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