Ashitaka frowned and his heart sank into his chest when Tamar sullenly shook her head in response. He hoped that didn’t mean that the mare's mother had passed on. Of course the silver mare was old enough to look after herself but there were few bonds stronger than those between a mother and her daughter. That's one of the reasons why he kept himself so busy with patrolling or sparring. It distracted him from the thoughts that he will prbably never see the rest of his family again. At least not in this life.
Ashitaka was about to offer some comforting words but Tamar had quickly changed the subject. She said that Nicodemus was a relative of hers. Well, they must have been distant relatives because Ashitaka didn’t see much in the way of family resemblance. She then asked if he was a relative too and his face broke into a smile.
“No, me? No, no,” he chuckled for a moment before regaining his composure.
“Mizuki and I are from another island, many days swim away from here,” he explained with his usual soft tones.
“Mizuki is my half sister,” he added because he was certain that Tamar had not been acquainted with the grey mare, who until recently had also been a recluse.
“She had a foal this spring for Nicodemus, a daughter that she called Ameyuki,” for a moment he paused as he suddenly realized,
“I guess if you go by that reasoning then we could be called family.” ASHITAKA
Male. V. Bay Roan. Hokkaido Horse. 13.3HH. Beta of the Inlet.