‘Your happiness means a lot to me’ he had said, and he’d promised to always tell her the truth. Vihaan studied every line of his face – the set of his jaw, the flare of his nostrils, the barely noticeable furrow of conviction between his eyes. By his expression, in addition to the tone of his voice, the perceptive dunalino mare determined that he’d been genuine in his oath. It was not the first such oath he’d kept to thus far, but this was perhaps the most important to her. If Cain claimed that’d he’d been truthful with her, and always would… Her happiness…

He desired…

Vihaan’s eyes glowed like embers as she met his gaze, her breath frozen in her lungs as he moved t’ward her. But, just as she had earlier, he lingered close and did not press in on her, hovering expectantly, waiting, waiting for what? A sudden realisation came to her, and her eyes widened, the air rushed from her lungs in a soft sigh. Permission. He was acknowledging her autonomy, just as he had unexpectedly in the Meadow, before he’d taken the greatest care to mount her. Please, she had begged him then. Please don’t hurt me. The supplication rose to her lips again like an echo, serving as a reminder of the ghosts of who she and Cain had been, and sparking hope of what they might help one another to become.

"Please," she whispered, trembling again with the effort to remain still and unmoved. "Please don’t leave me." And just as he had sensed back in the meadow that she didn’t want to feel his touch, she hoped now that he would discern her craving of closeness. The brave heart within her thrummed against its cage of bone, and Vihaan felt her mouth go dry as her breathing turned shallow. "Then know me," she murmured after he had drawn near, returning his affectionate touch and accepting his gentle embrace.

A sudden soft sound from their son had her pulling back slightly, tearing her gaze away from Cain, and momentarily breaking their connection. "Ask anything of me." Vihaan felt her skin prickle with the heat of her emotions, and her voice was thick and sweet like honey. Again, she couldn’t look at him, and as she heard Akello settle somewhere behind her, Vihaan closed her eyes and turned her face from Cain, in shyness and anticipation rather than the sorrow and fear that had filled her heart in the meadow. And she was the one that waited now, ready always to prove true to the promise she had made to him all that time ago. I will do what you say.

Whatever he sought to know of her, whatever question he asked, she would answer, and, in turn, perhaps, be offered a chance to know more of him.

Vihaan