Common

The soft sound of hoofsteps caught her attention before the reddish figure of the mare did and she turned toward it with half-tilted ears, her lips already pursed in preparation for an argument.

Rethe had never been an easy child, always more fight than flight. When Kohelet had abandoned her in the Bay, among the wolves she called siblings, her wildness had only grown. Softness was not a skill she possessed. It was her way to expect an argument, always, and today was no exception.

However, rather than greeting her with hostility, the dun mare smiled. Instead of reflecting the kind gesture, Rethe's suspicion sharpened and she drew in a breath as her body gathered tensely, neck raising and posture squaring up. What business did a mare have approaching her in the Commons?

"I'm fine." She answered, her tone clipped and brown eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know?"

A flicker of memory twisted her heart and her skin twitched as though a fly had landed on her (a sweet face, a kind word, the way he'd deflated when she'd snapped at him). Rethe huffed, her tail slashing irritably at her hocks as she worried the inside of her lip with her teeth, wrestling with the truth of who she was and the mare she wanted to be.

"Sorry," she muttered, her gaze dodging away from Tefnut's. "I'm just on edge. I'm Rethe."