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The bond between the two mares is, at best, tenuous. Once it had flourished, strong as the pines that reached for the sky all across the Bay. Now it was little more than an anemic shadow of what it had once been, tarnished by years of misunderstandings and desperate yearning.
And yet, such a bond could not be broken.
And so, when the days were really bad, when all Kohelet wanted to do was to curl up on the ground and bury her face in pine needles and hide, it was Rethe that found her. More than anything, Rethe wanted to spare her siblings the pain of seeing their mother so broken, and so she chased them away on those days, with bared teeth and striking hooves, guarding her mother’s sadness as if her father had left it to be her responsibility.
Privately, Rethe found it a little melodramatic. Especially considering Kohelet had been the one to pull the disappearing act last time. Turns out it wasn’t so fun to be on the receiving end, was it?
But they’d had that conversation and a dozen others beside, and what existed between them now was a sort of truce. Rethe understood Kohelet’s pain, but only because Kohelet had put her through it previously. It was hard not to know where your loved one was or how they were doing, to wish for their return with every breath you took, and to hate them for leaving at all.
At least when it came to her father, Rethe was far more confident that he would return. Whatever had waylaid her black sire, she was certain it was of some importance. He wouldn’t abandon them for nothing.
”Are you sure about this?” The young black mare asked, her lips pulled into a grimace and her ears tipped back. Her tone was not altogether kind, despite the fact that her words were spawned from a place of love, no matter how strained.
”You’ve been crying all morning.”
”All the more reason to spend the rest of the day with my loved ones, dearest,” Kohelet answered, doing her best to not be stung by the wariness in Rethe’s eyes. She understood that Rethe resented her for leaving when she did, and could not blame her daughter for it. In truth, she wouldn’t be surprised if all of her brood hated her for it, apart from little Solzeren. The black mare - still a girl in her mother’s eyes - made a soft noncommittal noise but did not block their passage forward as they trailed after Khoshekeh and the weanling filly.
”Room for two more?” Kohelet asked brightly as she came up behind them, lowering her muzzle to brush it affectionately over Solzeren’s hips. Her gaze rose back to her young son, now a King in his own right, and felt the complicated rush of emotions that came with such an acknowledgement. She was immensely proud of him, not just for stepping up to fill the void left behind by Fell’s sudden absence, but because he’d done so well in the role. She adored watching him grow, even as he sometimes stumbled (as she had) while he learned what it meant to lead.
And now he was a father, too, and she a grandmother. Such a term had once frightened her dreadfully but she relished it now, beaming at little Enver. She had done her best to allow her son the space to be his own parent, but she was ever willing to kidnap him for an afternoon so that Solzeren might have a playmate of her own age too.
”It’s such a lovely day, I’d like to spend it with you all.” She murmured warmly, letting her gaze go to her oldest son. Khoshekh had been a pillar in their family since his birth. Unlike his younger brother, he did not seem as driven toward leadership, but he had always been there to take care of them. She had heard through others that it was Khoshekh that had taken her place at Fell’s side as translator and interpreter for diplomatic engagements. He had always had a way of navigating between his parents, of taking care of them without ever taking sides.
Rethe offered her siblings nothing except a strained smile, hovering somewhere off to the side as they all conversed. After Kohelet had left her behind she had leaned heavily into Khoshekh’s and Fell’s company, but when they welcomed her mother back, she had pulled away and now no longer felt like she really understood where she belonged anymore.