A little thing, even littler than she’d first thought. Iona dropped her head a little, eyeing the colt with her ears perked, completely unaware of any possible similarities between the pair of them that might betray their shared blood. “Kerr?” She echoed his name after he shared it, then found herself grinning when he asked who she was.

“I’m Iona!” She introduced herself again, almost with a tone of faint exasperation, not grasping the concept that being so new to the world wouldn’t make conversation very easy for him. How silly of him to ask again!

Lifting her head again, she finally took note of the three adult horses in the distance (her mother included) and felt a little bit better at being near the colt. Surely one of the other two were who he belonged to and, if there was any trouble afoot, she wouldn’t need to be the responsible one. Suddenly her desperation for independence from her mother was a topic shelved for another day and, as she focused on the smiling colt in front of her, a new idea bloomed in her mind. Iona’s grin stretched a bit wider. Why not have some fun hanging out with Kerr? It looked like her mom was at least going to give her some space and was distracted with the other adults she was hanging out with, which meant… Iona’s eyes flicked back to Kerr.

“Wanna play?” Her head tilted, slightly quizzical.

—-------

Lilija smiled knowingly as Isla explained the colt Iona was interacting with was her firstborn. She had remembered how much she had fretted over Pahsimeroi when he was born. The loss of his father before his birth had added an almost panicked pressure that she didn’t quite feel with Iona, but she knew a large part of her anxieties with her first child had been because he was her first. Some things were easier with Iona; some things were harder.

She flicked her ear as Grier clarified her name, then asked after Pahsimeroi. Her smile was immediate as she gave her head a small nod to indicate that Grier had been right in assuming she was Lilija.

“He’s doing good, just growing up faster than I’d like.” Lilija could remember when he was a wobbly, spindly-legged thing trying to figure out how those legs worked, not the adolescent he was now. It seemed almost every week he was looking more like the young stallion he was becoming and less like her baby boy he’d been at her side. Of course, he’d always be her baby. “It’s almost scary how fast it happens,” she said, her voice going a little soft as her gaze inevitably pulled away from the mares and toward her daughter and Isla’s colt. “I still remember when Iona was born last spring and here she is, a year old and desperate to explore the world.”

Her smile warmed and she glanced from Iona to focus a little more on Isla’s colt. Seeing him, all little baby fuzz and adorable brightness, made her heart yearn. She’d avoided leaving the Prairie last fall, her heart lost and feeling another child wouldn’t help anything, but seeing a new baby always made her wish she had another little one by her side.

“Your boy is beautiful, by the way,” she said, swinging her attention back to Isla. “What’s his name?”

~ ♥ ~