“Vela,” he whispered back in a husky breath to her, finding himself smiling even happier than before. The stallion touched her gently then, caressing along the slope of her neck and inhaling her scent into his lungs. The blue of his eyes twinkled and he reached to gently nudge under her shoulder as if to silently encourage her to rise. He tucked his dark chin back to his chest and looked over the girl, trying not to focus too sharply on how much of her he’d already missed in their short time apart.

But somewhere inside him he could feel that rage fester and boil… How could she already be so large? So grown? True, she was still a child, but she was not the same knobby-kneed foal he had to leave behind… and all without a goodbye.

It took every bit of control he’d learned over the years to keep himself from turning his ears back at his thoughts and appearing aggressive. All too aware he was under his daughter’s eyes, Peyote behaved as expected, only looking at her curiously and reaching to nudge her again if she hadn’t started to stand yet. Then he pulled his head away from her and drew his back hoof a step back, leaning away, and then fully moving away, as if to indicate she should follow him after she’d risen. They were going to leave, they were going to return to their little paradise, and no one was going to bother them ever again.