The displacement when another stallion took over the Shore and pushed them out was… not necessarily welcomed, but what worried Daffodil more was the actions Romaro took next. The anger that became him was so unlike him, she grew more quiet and somber than she had ever shown herself to be. Daffodil wasn't necessarily afraid of him, she never thought Romaro could be the type to harm her, but she was afraid of what his anger would cause.

She had fallen for his gentle heart; she remembered how kind and warm he’d been, and how he’d led her to their secret oasis, tucked away for only the two of them to enjoy. Every time she envisioned it, tears stung her eyes. She missed the Shore. She missed tucking Calyx up between her and Romaro by the tumbling waters of the little river that wound by their special spot. So much had changed, and she was… confused. Confused and sad.

But she had to be a mother for Calyx. A very young first-time mother, no less, and the little boy’s life was completely uprooted shortly after he was born. Born late, too. She’d been so afraid he was too little to survive the swim away from Atlantis, but he was a strong boy like his father. They went to the Dunes to live beneath a kind stallion by the name of Helios and Daffodil thought it was somewhat ironic she had just missed her mother, brother, and sister when they were living here. She could have used their kind faces right now; maybe even her mother’s delusional grasp on finding the silver lining might actually help her feel less at a loss.

There was a rare moment where Calyx was being looked after by another mare of the mingling herds to give the young new mother a break and, just as Daffodil moved off to take a nap, she heard the Romaro’s cry for Helios. Daffodil glanced briefly around, but her ache to be near him was greater than her worry that she shouldn’t be the one to go first. She changed course to walk toward him, unable to put the happy pep that might normally be in her steps or even a smile across her face.

Just as Daffodil came upon the crest of a dune where she could look down and see Romaro, she noticed a great, big stallion coming like a predator from the surf behind him. “Romaro!” She cried out loudly toward him, then looked back the way she’d come, where some of the herd was, “Helios! Someone! Help!!!”