None of the Kingdoms of the old world had called to her. She’d visited them, of course, alongside the others, considered their merits, been encouraged to make a choice, but Sloene had held herself reserved. Not that some of them weren’t lovely, because they were, but they hadn’t been home. Home had been the quiet herdland her foster-mothers had raised her in, and the bustling common lands of Beqanna in which she was as invisible as they trained her to be, with or without putting any effort in.
Even after the change, she’d failed to find a place that clicked. Having long since realized she had forever to make a dent in the world, she’d been content to wander and watch. It hadn’t been until she found herself pregant with Sochi that Sloene had decided she’d best find a place to call home. She wanted her child to have a solid childhood like her dam, even if not a conventional one. But even then the little grulla mare had dawled and dragged her hooves until Sochi was born, and then when she met Scorch it had seemed almost a work of fate, aligning Sloene and her daughter with a place that was known for nurturing strong women.
She has to work hard to hide her utter shock that Djinni is related to her foster-mother Nera, but it works to her advantage that it would be normal for her to be a little surprised, given what this reveals about their respective ages. Neither of the short mares, after all, look like they’re decades old. In the end, Sloene gives a little smile before she responds. “Indeed, keeping secrets was the least of the things I learned,” is her agreement. She suspects Djinni of being a possible spymaster, and she had told Hestia she’d share full knowledge of her gifts with said person, but it’s still just a suspicion.
The pink mare admits to being a mother herself, and Sloene smiles wistfully even as her heart lurches every time someone moves below, wondering if that might be the moment Sochi departs. “I am glad she is coming into her own,” she says firmly, “As that was half the reason we followed Scorch to Nerine’s shores instead of giving one of the other recruiters a chance.” The other half a reason, the one she holds close to her heart, was the opportunity for Sloene herself to make a mark, to put her talents to use. “But I will miss her anyway.” She’s sure Djinni didn’t need her to say that out loud, but it leads into the rest; “I’m hoping I can fill some of that free time in service to Nerine.”