Tension mounted as the quiet filled the cavern walls between them. What was she to do if he refused to cow to her demanding presence? If she caved in to his resistance, he might assume he could get away with greater disrespect and continue to test her. If she grew more aggressive, it would lead to a clear, distinct relationship that would drive him from Tinuvel and her herd before he realized his full worth. It had been some time since a horse had dared push and prod until her temper became explosive and Mariael wasn’t certain she’d gotten any better at maintaining her composure in those moments.
Diamant. Are you satisfied?
Diamant. The hard lines of Mariael’s face relaxed and her head lowered – just slightly – as her ears turned forward. She may still look proud, but she no longer looked on the edge of aggression. He had given in to her demand and it pleased her. It also made her hope, yet again, he would come around to see why he should remain here in the Bay.
“Yes.” She said, any biting retort dying almost immediately.
“Why are you not with the herd?” She asked, though she felt she knew the answer. He wasn’t ready to be a part of them. Mariael wished he would integrate into their numbers, to understand what he could have here if he became a part of her family as she wished him to be. Her gaze sharpened just slightly as she studied the dark shadows behind him and their close proximity to the yawning, open gape of the cave’s entrance. “I hope you weren’t so foolish as to think you could safely escape my watch in the midst of winter.” She exhaled a soft breath of semi-translucent, warm white air. “You’d be dead before you made it halfway down the mountain.”
Dead. Again she felt the troublesome grief pinch her belly and crawl like a knot into her throat.
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