Orhan might worry, but Indira is unphased by her encounter with the bold stallion from the lagoon. There is very little fear in her heart anymore. Her adventures have shown her the world, and her experiences have given her a clear picture of reality, a reality that she conquered all on her own. Her losses have been taken as lessons and her victories have gifted her confidence.
A fear that can be found is brought to light by her father's next questioning statements. Indira may not fear travel, entrapment, or bodily harm to herself, but she does fear loss and the grief that comes with it. It's unlike Arcana to run off. She was madly in love with Orhan. He was her soul mate, and she never would have left him willingly. Hearing that her mother isn't here pains like a knife to the heart. Only concern for her children or her mate would compel her to leave, and only death would prevent her return. They might never know her true fate, but Indira assumes the worst.
"No, I left on my own. Mother wasn't with me." Indira admits, with rising distress in her voice. "This is all my fault. She must have come looking for me." Indira's eyes find a pebble in the sand, and she stares blankly at it, no longer able to make eye contact with her father.
When he mentions her ear, she shakes her head. "I-I'm ok. Just a little fight and I won." She smiles weakly and tries to make eye contact with Orhan, but her smile almost immediately melts into a frown and tears begin to fall. "I want to know where mom is. I really n-need her right now." she confesses through escalating sobs.
It's in this moment that she admits another fear to herself. As excited as she is at the prospect of possibly being pregnant, and with all of her thrill seeking tendencies and love for the unknown, the idea of taking on such a great responsibility terrifies Indira. And there's a part of her that worries about what she might produce. Indira mated with more than one stallion this past season and any one of them could be the father. One of them was the stallion that took her dignity with a force-breeding and then took half her ear in a fight. What if she conceives a colt from that stallion and he turns out to be like his father?
A fear that can be found is brought to light by her father's next questioning statements. Indira may not fear travel, entrapment, or bodily harm to herself, but she does fear loss and the grief that comes with it. It's unlike Arcana to run off. She was madly in love with Orhan. He was her soul mate, and she never would have left him willingly. Hearing that her mother isn't here pains like a knife to the heart. Only concern for her children or her mate would compel her to leave, and only death would prevent her return. They might never know her true fate, but Indira assumes the worst.
"No, I left on my own. Mother wasn't with me." Indira admits, with rising distress in her voice. "This is all my fault. She must have come looking for me." Indira's eyes find a pebble in the sand, and she stares blankly at it, no longer able to make eye contact with her father.
When he mentions her ear, she shakes her head. "I-I'm ok. Just a little fight and I won." She smiles weakly and tries to make eye contact with Orhan, but her smile almost immediately melts into a frown and tears begin to fall. "I want to know where mom is. I really n-need her right now." she confesses through escalating sobs.
It's in this moment that she admits another fear to herself. As excited as she is at the prospect of possibly being pregnant, and with all of her thrill seeking tendencies and love for the unknown, the idea of taking on such a great responsibility terrifies Indira. And there's a part of her that worries about what she might produce. Indira mated with more than one stallion this past season and any one of them could be the father. One of them was the stallion that took her dignity with a force-breeding and then took half her ear in a fight. What if she conceives a colt from that stallion and he turns out to be like his father?