cold in the violence after the war
hope is a fire to keep us warm
While Brazen would’ve had to be entirely inept not to notice the little filly following her (do all children sneak that obviously? she has to wonder. She is definitely no expert, so maybe they do. Either way, she would have to teach her how to do it properly at some point), she can pretend, for the moment, that she hasn’t noticed her. She seemed to be having a great deal of fun, and Brazen certainly wouldn’t be the one to discourage her from it. If anything, she’d do the very opposite. Hopefully Eurwen didn’t mind (she’s still not entirely sure she’d been forgiven for the walrus comments yet).
But then she is distracted by the presence of the stranger, her attention shifting into this entirely new direction as they greet one another. The winged mare’s initial concern is a reaction so commonplace Brazen barely registers it anymore. She is well aware of the impression she first makes and the hesitance that comes with it. After all, a lifetime of agony displayed so openly on one’s skin is hardly possible to forget. But she has grown so accustomed to it that the constant pain and blood serves only as a brief distraction akin to what others might feel when bitten by a horsefly.
She would have been highly amused to know her wry opinions on the stoniness of Nerine’s leaders though, given her and Eurwen’s less obvious but equally stony abilities (and even more especially given her relationship to one of those alluded leaders). But, regrettably, she is to be denied that humor, thanks to her inability to read thoughts. Instead she is left to frown towards the north as she peers in the direction of Icicle Isle in the wake of the other woman’s offer.
Though she had been somewhat distracted by worry over Lilliana’s pregnancy, she would’ve had to have been blind, deaf, and dumb not to know of everything that had happened in their northern-most territory. She also knows Leilan had responded quickly and no one had been truly hurt. And, considering how freely the residents had already moved in Nerine, it had been no great trouble for them to absorb the population while the island regrows.
Of course, she is no diplomat, so perhaps the offer is more a thing of diplomacy than anything else. Otherwise she’s not entirely certain why Loess might assume they would need aid. The appearance of the young Fechin distracts her for a moment before she can formulate a response however. Her grin is immediate as she drops an amused glance to the filly where she sidles up to Lepis, childish question upon her lips.
“Not who. What,” she replies almost absently before returning her attention to the more immediate matter at hand. “Neverwhere is around. I’m sure I could run her down in no time,” she continues, answering the winged mare then. “But before I do, why would Loess wish to extend aid to one of Nerine’s territories? It’s not exactly a secret Loess and Nerine aren’t on the friendliest of terms.”
Brazen