Siobhan watches the black mare carefully, trying hard to avoid letting her feelings color the scene. As much as she wanted to blame Faolain for what had become of the Ridge, she knew the fault lay largely with Bjorn. He had abandoned them to the fates and left everything that Siobhan had called dear fall to ruin. Equally, she shared responsibility too. Siobhan knew that she should have noticed the signs of his withdrawal sooner, and when the land came into jeopardy, she should have laid her own claim to it. The guilt for this weighed heavy on her heart.

She could not blame the black mare for seizing the opportunity.

Respectfully Faolain waits for Siobhan to dump everything out at once, before addressing her own concerns. In response to the black mare claiming the fault, Siobhan shook her head but remained silent. Faolain had offered, and it was not her responsibility to track them down to see if they had taken it. It was rude of Sio to have waited so long to make her decision, and she was well aware of it.

It was no surprise that Ailill had already done the responsible thing and approached their new leader, and while her own feelings regarding the golden stallion were a bit muddled at the moment, there was no denying that he would do his best to protect them. Sio was fairly certain that even if she were not co-raising the daughter of his heart, he would honor his commitment to the herd of the Ridge until it sunk into the ocean.

It seemed that Sio was not the only one in favor of just laying everything out on the table at once, and she listened attentively as her new leader confessed to her newness to the role. The red mare had assumed as much, considering how quiet the Ridge remained. She hadn't been certain if it was apathy on behalf of the mare or inexperience, but it had bothered her all the same. In a land as dense as the Ridge, it paid to have more horses around. It made the big cats less bold and the paths more easily walked from constant travel.

Lastly, she finishes with a request for Siobhan's trust. A multitude of feelings rushes through her at the mare's phrasing, finding it hard to accept the kneejerk reaction she had to the wording. It made it sound as though Ailill was there for her, and it was only Siobhan and her daughters sitting on the outside of the fence. Which was not entirely false, of course. Siobhan had waited overly long to make her commitment... but it was strange to hear the mare refer to Ailill as though he belonged to her.

Hiding her apprehension in a twitch of her auburn tail, Sio cleared the expression on her face. She could not expect this new life to be as comfortable as her old one. Not yet. Until she let go of her resentment and pain, she would continue to be uneasy in her new role.

"I was once, very briefly, a queen of the Ridge myself. So I know some of what you face in your new role." Sio says this calmly, taking care not to give the impression that she intended to usurp Faolain. Before she could think better of offering, she continued to speak, her voice growing steady as the words left her mouth. "My role was that of a diplomat, to calm situations that might otherwise have gotten out of hand. If... if you ever have need of advice in that regard, you are welcome to ask."

A smile, tentative but genuine crosses onto her charcoal lips before she continues. "I would be happy to accept your offer, for as long as it makes sense for my family."

Adding the caveat to the end of her acceptance is perhaps trite, but she did so to protect the three of them. She doubted that Faolain was one to keep them captive here against their will, but the memory of the Lagoon raid was still fresh in her memory.

OOC: I figure we can probably end the thread after Faolain's response? Unless she has questions or something <3