Ylva’s stomach fluttered with satisfaction when her words had their intended effect on Nova. The ice between them had been broken, but Ylva could still sense something like caution or suspicion in the slim black mare. Either Nova was an inherently distrusting individual, or her time here had scarred her so much that she was reluctant to open up to anyone. Whatever the cause, there was still a wall up between them that Ylva had only just begun to chip away at.
She could never have guessed that the source of Nova’s reticence was doubt over Ylva’s allegiance. Ylva was still a naive young thing; she blindly trusted that her distaste for Warsaw was as clear as Nova’s, even if it was expressed in a much subtler way, hidden beneath the desire to avoid conflict. She did not realize how she could have been perceived the day of the herd meeting, when she had offered Warsaw information on one of his enemies.
Ylva’s smile faltered and there was a moment of quiet in which she turned her head to check on her sleeping children, and to consider what she could say next. She knew it was impolite to pry so soon, but her desire to bond with Nova was almost overpowering. With Solaris - her only friend - thinking of leaving the inlet, Ylva craved social closeness like a duck craved water, both for herself and for her children’s benefit. Then a thought struck her: perhaps the way to lower Nova’s boundaries was not to pry, but to open up.
Still looking at her children, she said in a quiet voice, “I should thank my lucky stars that he has not so much as looked at them since I brought them home. Solaris advised me to take them away, but I couldn’t… not with my third on the way. No mare can raise three young ones alone.” Ylva turned to regard Nova with shy eyes. “Before I found them, however… Well, let’s just say that I did not travel to that meadow with a return journey in mind.”
She lowered her eyes. “Please don’t tell anyone. Only Solaris knows.”
3; norwegian fjord; red dun pangare; 14hh
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