Ilma has a trace of stubbornness to her, that much can be said. It does not easily come out; but is there, and it’s one of the reasons that she cannot sit around and cry; but it is just that this thing cannot, should not and will not take over her whole life. She will learn from this and she will thrive once more.
That being said, it is indeed still hard for her to smell another male - but she tries to distinguish the one stallion from the other through her flared nostrils, not to let another take a blow from what the one had done in the past. The white mare calms more when the Lippizaner male is, in appearance, more like herself and less like her wrongdoer; she calms fully when she takes in Kagerus’ breath, a scent most familiar and trusted.
She smiles to the Portugese white then; his features so similar to what she knows as family, be it only that the two races share so many ancient lines. His name is Baltas, he says, and she nods. ”I am Ilma,” she answers quickly, and Kagerus fills in the rest. Or most of it anyway. The winged mare glances at the stallion, seeing he is composing himself - perhaps the magic is something he still needs to get used to. Also he gets a full explanation on the two castes in Hyaline, and Ilma realizes he must be from another land just like she. She nods to him, in respect. He’s holding up quite well. ”Yes, if you so please, you’d be allowed to take on as many tasks if you like. As a sanctuary, we take in all those who wish us no harm, so it is in our best interests to not separate a horse’s physique so much from their brain as perhaps another kingdom might. But rest assured if your heart belongs to one caste, you’re not required to do anything that doesn’t suit you.” After all, she was never required to take any lessons in fighting, and although many horses might think otherwise, she still had no yearn to do so. Even with some lessons, she would not have been able to fight the father of her current child - or if she would, she would probably not have won.
She wonders about her winged daughter for a moment - currently in Nerine, she might make a fierce fighter as well when she came home. She’s distracted from that thought, however, and agrees to escort Baltas to the lake. While they walk, she tags along on his other side, trying to get the conversation flowing so as not to be distracted by her thoughts of a daughter she can only hope does well, or a man she is not likely to see any time soon. ”Have you been in Beqanna long, Baltas? I know for me, it was quite a shock to find out about the magic in the land. I don’t know if Kagerus told you about that before?” She might have, she might not have - knowing something is possible and actually seeing it happen were two different things; and it could be just the latter that had surprised him when she made her appearance.
don't let the fear of flying stop you from falling