Vita Nova caught eyes with her King first, the two locked into one another intensely, albeit briefly. She could see how the grey stallion searched her body language for some kind of message, but Vita Nova didn't have one to offer. All of this was still so new and foreign to her. It was true that she had agreed to become Warsaw's lead mare when he asked her, even after some serious consideration, but she had never dreamed of holding such a position. At least not like her mother, Evaline, whom made a career out of duping stallions in an effort to obtain power. The young, spotted mare was still struggling to strike the right balance with the rest of the mares whom followed Warsaw here. But she could feel their eyes searing into her now s she stood alongside their King, and she was soaking it up.
Nova nickered reassuringly to the grey stallion when he doted on her. Though she remained cautious and generally skeptical of the decisions he made, she would never publicly make those feelings known. In order to show some semblance of a united front, Vita Nova understood that she would have to throw her support behind him no matter what Warsaw did. She could always bicker with him later over her own feelings. But never here, in front of everyone else. As for Liland, Nova had no opinion either way. Though her heart ached sometimes when she thought of the Bay, and the memories she shared with Nephilim there. That, however, felt like ancient history these days.
Her brilliant blue eyes scanned the crowd as Warsaw announced his victory. She bobbed her head in an effort to show support and praise to her stallion, though her thoughts were somewhere else. Most of the mares she'd met here seemed simple enough. They wanted protection and some sense of community. That seemed easy enough. But a relatively new addition - a thin black mare who hung in the back of the group, caught Nova's attention. She'd heard about this mare before - how she lived here once and was recently caught again by Warsaw. But something sour filled Vita Nova's stomach as she looked at her. Not only did she share her own name, but her conformation shared similar features and even a common, light build. Vita Nova snorted as she stared down her nose at the copycat now. If she was looking for a nemesis - she certainly found one.
One ashen-colored ear lobe swiveled to the side and forward again as Warsaw mentions that Celestria was missing. Even more curious was the mention of two nameless, faceless stallions whom must have stolen her away at some point, perhaps while Warsaw was preoccupied with Liland. Vita Nova felt a sinking, pitting feeling in her gut as her thoughts flashed to her brother, Shamwari. She of course hadn't seen him since she'd slipped away from the Prairie some time ago, but the guilt of that decision still weighed heavily upon her. If it was Shamwari, and even Jabari, who came here - which she prayed that it wasn't - but if it was, she hoped desperately that Warsaw never found out.
4 | Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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