As Vihaan sat there, legs tucked awkwardly beneath her (though she was oblivious to any discomfort), she found herself in awe of the colt that was stirring beside her, and her copper eyes gleamed with love for him. He was so alive, and though the mare had doubted in her heart that she was meant for motherhood ever since the day Cain had covered her, there was no trace of it in her anymore. Just as her own mother would, Vihaan would go to the ends of the earth for her son.

In this tender quiet moment that was shared by just the three of them, Vihaan felt her heart swell in her chest as she recalled all that Cain had said and done to help her. The immediate appearance of the stallion had been a great comfort – he’d not hesitated to respond to her cry for help. The unwavering confidence he had in her, and the way he wouldn’t allow her to give up moved her deeply. And his gentle touch, breath warm upon her skin… Vihaan felt her skin prickle with the heat of her passion, and she was afraid to dwell on it too much, for fear of what she might discover of herself, and what she might give away.

And suddenly, the intensity with which she observed her son was driven, not by her fascination with him, but by the fact that her chest suddenly felt tight, and she swore that her heart was beating in her throat. She dared not lift her gaze to Cain, lest he be able to look into her wide eyes with their dilated pupils, and see into her very soul. Strong and capable, that’s what he called her, how he saw her, even though she’d feared she’d become so much less in his eyes – a mere shadow of the fierce and protective creature he’d become acquainted with in the meadow. And what he was saying now… Vihaan couldn’t help but inhale sharply in surprise, her muzzle tilting up towards the piebald male of its own accord, and her bright eyes snapping to his face, narrowing in contemplation.

A surge of emotion flooded through her, a second wind that pushed her to her hooves in a graceful, fluid motion. She had left these islands as a young filly, and had returned a grown mare. Dependency upon her mother was replaced by independence, and a conviction that had sent her walking down a path of her own choosing. Vihaan had never known the attention of a stallion, had never craved it. And so, as wise and experienced as she was in many ways, when it came to matters of the heart, she was incredibly naive. She eyed Cain with a strange mixture of trepidation and affection, disbelief and hope.

"You cannot say things like that to me," Vihaan said softly, though there was no hint of malice in her words, nor displeasure in her bronzy eyes. Her pale golden face creased for a moment in concern, and she was quick to continue, hoping that she hadn’t disappointed or displeased him in any way. "I didn’t mean it like that, I..." Vihaan floundered mentally, struggling to find the words to explain, quickly becoming visibly distressed and upset with herself when they didn’t reveal themselves easily. She felt caught in the turmoil of her own emotions – the dread that had weighed upon her about giving birth, as well as the physical affects it left her with, and her altered hormone levels did little to help.

A movement from their son distracted her for a moment, and she leaned down to nuzzle him, nudged him gently to his hooves. Once he seemed steady on his long, gangly legs, she guided him to her belly, and only after he began suckling did Vihaan return her attention to the colt’s father, her king and caretaker. "Akello. He is Akello," she named their son, grateful for the way Cain had diverted the conversation to something else. A smile settled upon her features, and she twisted her head to watch the colt for a moment, content and at peace, even as she fought off exhaustion. She could only delay for so long, however. It would not do to deprive Cain from the reasoning behind her words.

Instead of speaking, Vihaan closed the small distance between them, trusting that Cain would not shy from her as she extended her muzzle to slowly trace the lines of his face with her soft lips. "What I mean is, the things said to me matter very much. When I say something, except for when I burn hot with anger, it is always a promise and a truth, and I view the words of others just the same, even if they do not feel as I do." A pause, as she gathered her thoughts, drawing back, so that she could establish direct eye contact before she spoke again. "Words are not a game for me. Can you understand this?" She did not question him because she doubted his capability or intellect, but because she needed some kind of acknowledgement from him. The dunalino mare would remain unsettled until she could be certain that Cain was aware of, and respected, the way her mind worked, how she needed to be treated in order to feel secure, and valued for who she was as an individual.

"I do not mean to doubt you," Vihaan murmured, eyes downcast as she suddenly turned shy, acknowledging without words that perhaps Cain had indeed been genuine in his high praise, even as she strove to ignore the flutter of apprehension deep within her. None had ever looked at her the way Cain was looking at her now. Despite her best efforts to remain unaffected, her breath hitched in her throat. "Please do not feel you have to say such things to make me happy." Slowly, her eyes travelled back up to meet his gaze. "All I ask from you is to be honest with me always. This is what I need." The noble and loyal heart within her pounded a frantic rhythm, and with her next breath, she angled her muzzle so that she and Cain were sharing breath, and the smallest movement would have them touch.

Vihaan trembled as she maintained this deliberate proximity – trembled with effort, exhaustion and profound emotion. As attuned as she had become to the gypsy stallion in this moment, at any sign that the child at her side was in need of her, she would break away from Cain. For now, though, the hold Cain unknowingly had on her remained undisturbed. "As for what I desire…" The words were whispered, husky and charged with feeling. Vihaan held his gaze, her breathing shallow as she allowed the silence to lengthen. By her actions, she hoped to show that, just because she was always upfront and honest, intentional with what she said, it did not mean that she was cold and unfeeling. She was anything but unfeeling. In this moment, she was filled with emotion, overflowing with it. It burned within her like fire and flame. Vihaan was capable of many things, and was only just discovering that being coy and tantalising were two of her undiscovered talents.

She drew her muzzle away from his, lifted it to his ear, and breathed softly there as she spoke. "I desire to know you. I desire you to know me." If not for Akello, if not for her diminished energy, she might have nipped playfully at Cain’s flank to entice him into a game of chase. Instead, she returned her muzzle to its earlier position, their velvety noses almost touching. And this was how Vihaan remained, waiting in anticipation to see what Cain would say, what he would do. Though the mare wore her tiredness like a second skin, she had never been more vibrant, had never felt so alive as she did in this moment. An ear flicked back to focus on her son, and with the smallest of sighs she shifted her weight and settled. But not once did she falter in her gaze. He copper-brown eyes did not turn aside from Cain’s face, and she stood before him unrelenting, just as she had that day in the meadow. It felt like a lifetime ago, and in a way it had been.

They were different now. The both of them had been changed.

Vihaan saw this in her unabashed scrutiny of the black and white stallion, and had witnessed this shaping every interaction between them since she had kept to her word and come to him. Silently the mare wondered how much she was altered in the eyes of the stallion she had pledged herself to out of a sense of duty, and sought to know now, out of want of something much more personal. It was a primal desire, she noted with a spark of curiosity. And some part of her wondered if Cain felt like this too, fiercely hoped he did. "Is this real?" Vihaan was unaware that she had breathed this fleeting thought aloud. In the very depth of her being, Vihaan hungered for this to be real, something shared between them as Akello was, as the very breath in their lungs was. There was a sense of it all being too much for her to bear alone.

After all, she was like fire, and only if life was breathed into her could she continue to burn as brightly and wildly and fiercely as she did.

Vihaan