The Inlet. Mariael thought back to when she had met the new stallion leading her neighboring territory. She respected Orkaan as his blood was that of Tinuvel’s and his intention was akin to hers in that he wished to keep the territories led by those of their blood. Hearing he was stealing away mares was of no consequence to her – this was not a threat to the island as a whole and so it did not require her to step in between. Mariael was no stranger to the thought of plucking another horse for her herd against their will (she thought briefly of Diamant) if she believed they would be a benefit to her home.
Yet it was when Paradiso said the name – Vita Nova – that Mariael paused. Mariael had been nothing more than a spindly-legged foal when Vita Nova lived in the Bay alongside her father. She could only just remember her, but what she remembered more than the mare’s face was how her father had held back tears when he recounted their reuniting and permanent parting. Mariael felt no pity for her father – Vita Nova had been right to be enraged with him, she thought, just as he had every right to have left in the first place. It was a situation where she could see each side was right and accepted to leave it as it was. Leave them separate.
Of course, that wouldn’t be a difficulty with her father’s death, but Mariael wondered if Vita Nova would look for Nephilim now that she was captive in the Inlet. Would she want to ask him to help her escape Orkaan, only to learn Nephilim was dead?
Evaline. Koray. Mariael listened quietly as they walked through the snow and reached the tall trees which seemed to be waiting for them. She knew nothing of these two, but learning Vita Nova had been abused by a stallion named Koray set her teeth on edge. Her tail flicked once at her hind, but she kept down her irritation at the thought and simply decided should she ever run into this Koray’s path, she would teach him what it meant to harm someone who’d once called Tinuvel’s Bay their home.
Shamwari addressed her as he finished explaining everything to Paradiso and Mariael stilled momentarily, realizing Shamwari, too, knew nothing of her father’s death. It was not news she wished to speak of, for the wound was still so very raw even after all this time, but it was unavoidable. She exhaled a breath and nodded. “Thank you, Shamwari. My father had once told me about you.” She was pleased to see the fall-out between Vita Nova and Nephilim had not entirely soured Shamwari’s opinion of Nephilim. Her eyes met his. She would face self-pain head on and not avert her gaze or hide away from it. “My father died nearly two years ago.” She said, and the words felt as if they tangled and caught in her throat. Taking a steadying breath, she lifted her chin. “He went into a blizzard to fight away wolves coming too close to our caves. When I went to find him, his tracks were lost and all I could find was blood.”
Too much blood, Mariael thought. Too much blood for him to have survived.
“I’m glad to see his friendships live on.” She said, carefully picking her words and trying to lighten the otherwise heavy weight of the topic. Mariael loathed dwelling on it for too long. “If Paradiso should ever decide he’d prefer to return home to you in the Prairie, he’s more than welcome to make that choice.” But she had seen the way Maziel smiled warmly whenever she spoke with him and had a feeling he might not make that choice any time soon.
“My neighbor and I lead Tinuvel together as a united front,” Mariael said, changing the topic, her tone all-business and lacking the soft tint of warmth it had held a moment ago, “I do not get involved in his affairs unless it threatens my island as a whole and I would advise Paradiso to follow suit.” Her gaze hovered just briefly over Paradiso, heavily, before she looked once more at Shamwari. If anyone was going to ask around and poke their nose in Orkaan’s business, it was going to be her. Mariael might have established an alliance with him, but it would be a far worse mess if one of her herd members was found pushing the boundaries and potentially breaking their alliance than it would be if it was her acting alone. “If it gives you any comfort, I plan to travel to the Inlet soon to see how Orkaan and his herd fared the winter. I can seek Vita Nova then and see how she and her foal are faring.”
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