Valve studied Evaline’s face as she explained her decision. A fresh start, yes. A fresh start was always beneficial, however almost always unattainable. The world around them was more connected than Valve could express. Even seemingly small actions seemed to ripple outward—the smallest drop could make waves and the black mare knew this.

“Mmm, maybe I did,” Valve responded slyly. “You know that’s precisely the way to get a fresh start.”

She turned her gaze toward the dunes, flicking her dark tail and continued.

“But as you can see, these sands are not made of ash, Evaline.” Pausing for a moment, she turned back toward the golden mare, her expression more hardened and stoic. “If there is any possibility that those foals should return, I need to know it.”

It was extremely important for Valve to keep the best interest of the herd and these lands in mind. Should one or both of the foals return, who knows who might come with them—or if they bore some kind of grudge against their mother as Kasabian clearly had, they might be dangerous. In either case, Valve would have to stop them. If Evaline wanted to remain in Valve’s good graces, she would need to be more forthcoming. A lack of information was precisely why Evaline had ended up in such an unfortunate situation to begin with.

VALVE
slenderman x black heart machine