As hard as she tried to keep thoughts of the FrostHeart from invading, they simply would not stay out of her mind. And Valentine didn't help. Her gaze roved over the nearby herd, each light colored pelt catching her eye for a moment before she determined that it was not her daughter or her ex-lover. A silly thing to do, seeing as she hadn't been blessed - a mental laugh - with their presence for several days. Sno she had seen briefly after the invasion, as they watched Mauja's pet killed and reborn. And the king she had followed, to rally around him alongside the rest of the herd. But since then, she hadn't seen hide nor tail of either. Something that she was both thankful for and worried about. So she tried not to dwell on it.

"A daughter." Clearly, she had surprised him. Well, that was predictable, given that she wasn't really the matronly type. "How lovely she must be, if she looks like her mother." Amber gaze swivelled suddenly to meet Valentine's eyes. Emotionless, a small sneer crossed her maw. "She inherited very little from me other than a very stubborn streak." The laugh that followed was hollow. Sno most definitely looked like her father, and perhaps it was better that way. The shadow-mare had always been ridiculed for her plain looks; even outside of her color, her body was just not interesting. She did not have the petite, dished look of an Arabian, nor had she the heavyset muscle of a draft. She was nothing, and she was everything. She hated it.

And yet a small voice piped up from the back of her mind, breaking through the bitterness: he complimented you. She looked away, suddenly uncomfortable, and then back to him again. This time her manner was less abrasive. She would not apologize, the shift in attitude being the closest she would come to such. "I'm sure I can learn to fight, and I will train myself to be a great warrior, so that we can defeat those damned Qian." A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips; his earnest words were amusing in a most pleasing way. She nudged her muzzle against his shoulder gently, a playful tone returning to her. "It takes much hard work and perseverance to become a great warrior," she informed him. "I will train you, but in the meantime, we'd best find something more to your liking."

A pause, and then: "You know, there is something different about you. It's not bad either." It was an absent-minded statement, one that was almost more thought than speech. Had she not been paying attention, she might have missed it or brushed it aside, much as she had various suitors over the years. But she was paying attention, and she did not miss it. She looked at him levelly, her eyes thoughtful, but betraying no emotion. Truth be told, she didn't know how to respond to his words. She was different, and it was bad. Or at least, that's what others thought, that's what she wanted them to believe. Should she be upset that Valentine did not?

[W/C | 527]