His call cut through the crisp autumn air as clear as day, much to Vita Nova's dismay. The muscles along her topline and neck tightened in response, and she held her breath. Tavas heard the call too, and lifted her refined, golden head from grazing, her yellow ears pricking at attention in the direction from which the call came. Vita Nova had yet to take a breath. She felt stricken, panicked almost.
"Mom?"
Tavas asked, with the flick of her blonde tail. Finally, Nova releases. Her exhale leaves her in an abrupt, audible rush. And she inhaled deeply, her nostrils flaring, as tears began to well in her eyes from the pressure. "What's wrong?" The filly asked. But Vita Nova remained silent. She had been avoiding Warsaw over the last couple of weeks - ever since he'd called that herd meeting after defeating and expelling their former neighbor from Tinuvel. That was all fine and good by Vita Nova, but it was what the conversation had devolved to that gave her great pause. That foolish mare Yvla had made mention of a "red stallion" and both Warsaw and Nova knew exactly who that was. She didn't want to talk to Warsaw about her brother. But if Warsaw planned to retaliate, well... She wasn't sure what she would do. She'd want to warn Shamwari, and warn his family - her family. But there was no telling what the grey stallion would do.
"I think he wants you to --" Tavas says, trying to fill the air. "I know Tavas." Nova spat back, cutting her off. She exhaled deeply again and looked sympathetically at her daughter. "I'm sorry. I know. Just - just stay here for a minute, okay?" She insists with the flick of her grey tail. The mare then turns swiftly on the haunches and heads in the direction where the call came.
She is brisk in her pace and anxious to get this over with. The slender mare moves expertly through the tall pines on her way toward a valley Warsaw generally favored, and she wasn't surprised to find him there. He seemed relaxed and generally at ease, which gave Vita Nova some relief. When it came to Shamwari, the grey stallion hardly ever seemed... calm.
"You rang?" She hollered from her position within the trees, only her face peeking out into the clearing. She took one more deep breath before strolling through the tall grasses toward him, but kept her distance from the stallion, which wasn't necessarily like her.
Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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