The silver-haired queen offered her dappled companion a genuine smile, something quite rare for her carefully schooled features. Pale lashes blink slowly in acknowledgment of Kara’s words, and an almost reluctant sigh escapes her ashen lips in response.

Despite the armor of stone that she kept carefully pulled tightly around her, the gray mare was right. Her last pregnancy had taken its toll on her health. Even Nyimara worried at times whether she would be able to pull herself back together again. The determination and burning fires within her soul kept her from succumbing to a fate that might have fallen many a mare, but that still did not mean that for the first time in a very long time, Nyimara was all too aware of her mortality.

”I know Kara….” she begins, pausing a moment as the vulnerability draws to the surface. ”If I am honest…. I was… concerned myself.” she admits, her voice softening. While she might be willing to admit a weakness to her boon companion, the witch queen was NOT about to let the rest of the Desert herd know that she had a fear.

A moment of silence passes between them before Nyimara snorts, giving her finely dished profile another toss. ”But the gods are not yet ready for me. I am much recovered now, and we have two new foals to add to our ranks. I believe that would be considered a win, wouldn’t you agree?”