Orhan

When Vita Nova spoke, neither of the stallions replied. Koray did not react at all, and instead stood unmoving, staring at his father with rage clearly bubbling beneath his stiff demeanor. Orhan at least let his eyes meet Vita Nova's ever so briefly, his lips twitching in the faintest of smiles, but then his attention returned to Koray again. There was a wariness in Orhan as he waited for his son to do something, anything, as though he half-expected him to lash out with hooves or teeth.

When Koray finally spoke, his voice was low and terse, as though he didn't want Vita Nova to hear what he said but was too angry to lower his voice to a whisper. "You drove her away. She left because you kicked me out. She didn't want me to go, but you sent me away anyway. She can't hear; she shouldn't be on her own. She could be dead for all we know, and if she is it's your fault." Then, with a sharp flick of his tail, the perlino stallion turned and lumbered away.

Orhan watched his son go with his heart hammering in his chest. It was true that Carisa had been against sending Koray away, but Orhan had had no choice: he'd already had a second stallion at the time, and so the laws of the islands had dictated that his son, once grown, could no longer stay. It pained Orhan to lose any member of his family, but there was little he could do other than to engage in a futile search for them. He had lost so many loved ones over the years, and had begun to accept that once a horse left, they were gone for good.

He turned to Vita Nova and lowered his head to gaze humbly at the sand. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he said. "Koray and I have... never quite seen eye-to-eye." He lifted his chin to look her in the face, and studied her for a moment. "Can I ask you something?" He hesitated, one ear flicking back with apprehension. "He didn't... bring you here against your will, did he?" His honey-brown eyes bore into hers, searching.