Valve. Avangeline inhaled sharply at the sight of her, happiness bright in her eyes to see the sleek black mare once more. She had admired Valve greatly, the mare was of immense power and there was something about her aura which encouraged Avangeline to respect her. Even now she felt the weight of it as Valve drew near, and lowered her head just slightly – just enough.
“This is Al-Hattaal, he’s been my close…” Avangeline hesitated, suddenly aware how simple the term friend sounded when describing the stallion she stood aside. Yet she could not say she’d loved him for years, because she’d never once told him the truth. Her eyes jumped to him and then to Valve, smiling apologetically. “I met him when I first came to the islands and we’ve remained close ever since.” There was an underlying message in her words.
This is Al-Hattaal. He can be trusted.
Avangeline glanced past Valve momentarily into the heart of the Dunes and then back again to the black mare. “Is Gabbar near? We needed to speak to him about his mother, Iftikhar.” She looked at Al-Hattaal. If he wished to divulge why, he was in a safe enough place to do so.
Avangeline noticed she’d not been pressured as to why she left and so she said nothing. If Valve held no ill will toward her disappearance, Avangeline would not speak of things that didn’t need to be aired. She did, however, glance for a familiar gold-coated mare too, though for the time being she saw no one behind Valve.
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