The stallion gave her his name, and it was a long one. Ylva's sluggish mind pored each word, and she was just wondering what the significance of 'Devil' was when Warsaw abruptly dismissed Solaris. Ylva's heart dropped and she shot a fearful glance toward the other mare, but said nothing. It had not occurred to her that Warsaw might have anything but good intentions toward her, but that did not mean she wanted to be alone with him. Mournfully, she watched Solaris flee into the dark.
The night seemed chillier without her friend. Ylva followed Warsaw wordlessly to the stream, aware of the closeness of his body and the smell of his musk. She recalled what Solaris had said - that she was the granddaughter of the 'Earl', whatever that was - and wondered if she had been talking about Warsaw. As they reached the stream and Ylva drank the freezing water till her voracious thirst had been quenched, she eyed the stallion out of the corner of her eye, and wondered. Yet sleep called her name, and it was growing harder and harder to form coherent thoughts.
"Thank you again," she finally said to the stallion, as her muzzle dripped water. Her former boldness was gone, and now she was hardly able to look at him straight on, instead holding her chin close to her chest and glancing upwards from beneath her eyelashes. "You've been so kind, but I could really use some rest now, if you don't mind. I haven't stayed up this late since I was a filly."
2; norwegian fjord; red dun pangare; 14hh
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