It is exactly has she expected. Liland appears to listen but every point she makes goes right over head. He continues to harp on about how he cannot be friends with Rougaru and Warsaw, after she just said she didn't expect him to be friends. Allies and friends are two different things. You can show someone some respect without liking them personally. But this is the way of Liland. Everything is personal. Every action is fueled by pure emotion. He wears his feelings on his sleeve. The quality can be endearing in the right scenario, but in this moment, it is absolutely exasperating. He seems to think he's compromising with her now, telling her he will leave Rougaru alone, but his rules regarding Rougaru remain the same, a contradiction to what he claims to be a peaceful resolution. Rougaru is still a clear enemy, unwelcome in the Bay, and Zjeena too, remains an enemy.

Has she not explained over and over again why she bred with Rougaru? Does he not understand that she came back to the Bay, and back to Liland when she didn't have to? Liland, pray tell what I have done to lose your trust? If I wasn't loyal to you, why the hell would I have come back?" She asks him. She doesn't yell, but words are spoken with desperation. She implores him to answer. Her eyes search his, sadness mixing with the anger in her expression. "Is it because I bred with Rougaru? If so, that's the dumbest reason not to trust me now." A heavy sighs escapes her. "I told you why I did that. It was a bargain for my freedom. I wanted to come home. I wanted to see you, and that was the most efficient way to do so."

Zjeena's gaze drifts upwards to the clear winter sky above. A pair so snow buntings flutter past, twirling together. Their dance is both cheerful and sweet, a far cry from dance she and Liland perform on the ground below. A glimpse of what these buntings share deepens the sadness growing inside her. There was a time when that was she and Liland. As it stands now, it appears those days are over, and Zjeena mourns the loss of a relationship she once cherished.

When her eyes find Liland's again, the wave of rage that overtook her at the beginning of this conversation has faded. In its place is a sullen look of defeat to rival Liland's. "Regardless of the reason, I made a decision about my own body. It is my body, and such a decision is mine, and mine alone to make. You would mount every mare on these islands given the chance, and I would not stand in your way. If we are truly equals then we both should be afforded the same bodily autonomy." She pauses to take a breath, then continues. "You held affections for other mares, but I knew there was room in your heart for more than one. As long as I knew I had a place among them that was enough. Are you so jealous that you would throw away everything we had because you couldn't keep me all to yourself?"

It is through this conflict with Liland that Zjeena has come to realize why her mother was the way she was. Zjeena was raised by her mother in a herd comprised only of mares. She never met her father. The mares of the Coven had very little to say about stallions that was positive. They were good for breeding, but otherwise were considered dim witted, and overly aggressive. She was cautioned not to get tangled up with males. It is only because of her brother that Zjeena doubted the truth of these teachings. Her brother was none of these things, and it was was difficult to see him banished upon maturity. But it seems stallions are products of their upbringing. Her brother, Nattergal, from whom she named her son, was raised among mares. He was raised to respect them in ways that other stallions are not. Liland may remind her of her brother in some physical sense, being the same breed, but their personalities find few similarities. In the way Lilands attempts to control her, it's clear he is the kind of stallion her mother cautioned her against. He thinks himself superior. He makes decisions using every part of his body other than his brain. Falling out of love with Liland has opened her eyes to the real Liland. She can see beyond the hazy tint of rose-colored glasses.

ZJEENA

5 YEARS
MARE
FJORD
14.0 HANDS