I suppose the size of the herd is irrelevant, he answers and she hums softly in appraisal. It was true that the makeup of a herd likely mattered more than its numbers. Such a thing was much harder to pin down, however. You couldn't force a herd into being close-knit anymore than you could force someone to love you.

"No," she answers warmly as he speaks of living with strangers, although she wonders what his experience was of herdlife. Was he the sort to announce to the herd each time someone arrived? Or was he like her father, in that he would bring home new members and hope that they met everyone themselves? The latter was likely easier, she thought, but would hardly contribute to a close-knit herd, if that was what he wanted. It was easy to get lost in a new territory when you only knew the name of the stallion that had brought you there.

Beside her, Temblor seems to sober as he traverses thoughts that he does not share with her, and so she remains quiet but interested, wondering if he were willing to begin breaking walls down. Shiloh did her best not to pry, but she had often felt the bounds of his comfort level around certain topics and had thus far shied away from them herself. The question that finally comes is so weighted with meaning that she pauses before answering to truly consider what he is asking: if she believes that a mare taken forcibly from their home might find happiness in her new circumstances. The problem was that Shiloh didn't think there was a clear answer. There were too many variations for her to give a blanket statement.

If Solomon had stolen Feray from beneath Roheryn's nose, she would have likely been happy. That much was obvious from the way the two of them interacted now, but what if Rougaru would have been successful in holding Feray? Would she have eventually come around to loving the silver brute? That was hard to say, given the man's reputation as a villain, but what of someone else that was not an enemy to her family? What if Bjorn had stolen Feray away? Would she have loved him in the end?

"She returned," Shy offered slowly, her gaze lifting to Temblor's face. "I... I don't think hers was a typical situation, though. Rougaru had been an enemy of our family for many years, so the odds of them overcoming that and connecting were small, although probably not impossible." Not to mention that her father and Feray had already transcended herd boundaries and propriety to indulge their love. It would have taken more than a lucky challenge win to separate their feelings for one another. But what of Ysabel? She was also so unhappy with her father that it was not much of a stretch to imagine that she might find love elsewhere if offered the opportunity. Or even Golden Illusion... for as much as the sweet mare had loved her father, she had too large of a heart for her to not find something to love wherever she went.

"I think it depends on the mare and the situation," she eventually murmured. "I can think of some whose connection to my father would not waver even if they were taken, and I can think of just as many whose might."

What would she do, if she were taken? She glanced at Temblor again, her expression conflicted. She could not say with certainty that she loved him yet, although her fondness for him had only grown since arriving in Paradise. Would she adjust to a new land and a new leader so easily? The loyalist part of her heart cried out at the idea, disgusted with the prospect of moving on so quickly... but the pragmatist in her considered it objectively, turning over the possibility with thoughtful consideration. It would take her some time, she thought, but she could probably find contentment at least. Maybe not love or true happiness, but an acceptance of her situation in the end.

"I wouldn't want to leave," she finally admits, a flicker of a smile darting across her lips, "but I wouldn't want to be Sonorae, either. I can't imagine anything more lonely than waiting for someone to come for me that had already moved on."