Her son’s touch, her daughter’s concern, and the mare’s kind words only made Ylva cry even harder. Her lower lip trembling, her breath coming in heaving, shaky breaths, it was a few minutes before the worst had passed and she was able to open her eyes without her vision being blurred by tears. Flaring her nostrils to suck in a deep breath, Ylva finally glanced up at Shaydowfax, but just as quickly her eyes darted back to the sand under her hooves.
“Home,” she whispers, her voice little more than a croak. “My home is my family, not that place. You have done us a greater favor than you know, Shaydowfax.”
The sound of another’s approach distracted her for a moment, and she lifted her head to watch a young colt trot forward to meet Joker. The boy was the spitting image of the mare before her, so Ylva could only assume that he was her son. Immediately, her heart softened toward Shaydowfax. She was a mother too. That put her decision to remove Ylva and her children from the inlet in a very different context.
Finally, after rubbing her tears on her foreleg, Ylva met Shaydowfax’s gaze and held it. “My name is Ylva, and this is Torsten, Harley Quinn, and Joker. I must apologize for breaking down in front of you. Is that your son?” Though her expression was still sullen and weary, Ylva managed the tiniest of smiles.
3; norwegian fjord; red dun pangare; 14hh
mother of harley quinn, joker, & torsten |