To make matters worse, the golden mare is pregnant. Nyx scans her side, deducing that the father is most likely Tembovu, and the thought fills her with all kinds of strange feelings. "Of course," she replies to the other woman's question, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. It's hard, because damn, she's scared. Conversation isn't her strong point, and whilst she knows she needs to take a bite out of the humble pie, that doesn't mean it is going to be easy.

"Shall we?" she adds, and begins to walk away from the main gathering deeper into the trees around the Rotunda. It's here that she's guessing there will be more bones, and she calls Dominus from his hunting in order to help her locate some. It isn't long before he's bounding towards her, a femur clutched happily in his jaws, and his welcome presence elicits a small smile from the anxious mare as she asks him to go and place the bone with the others near Kisamoa.

Assuming Rexanna follows her, once the two mares - and the bone-hunting lion, who subtly looks around for Rexanna's companion and contemplates the worth of his marrow - are a good distance away from prying ears, Nyx halts. She doesn't know what to say, what to do, and she finds her gaze darts everywhere but at Rexanna's face. "I owe you an apology," she says. The words hurt less when she says them fast, but it doesn't hide the slight stab to the silver's pride at the fact she's saying sorry again. That humble pie don't taste too good.

"Those things I said were out of order. It is not my style to be a hell-spawned bitch, although I imagine that's hard for you to believe." She snorts wryly, a noise that lacks humour. "I have no excuses save for the fact I wanted myself to hate you right from the start. I painted this picture in my head of you as a man-eating devil-woman who forces men to forsake their natures in order to be with her and her alone, and I was determined to stick to that image even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary." Here she falls silent, awaiting a reply.

I apologize too, Nyx. The solider lifts her head, surprised, and her ears ram forwards with interest. She hadn't expected that, but it comes as a relief that the golden one doesn't seem the sort to hold a grudge. As a general rule, neither is Nyx, but she realises she's done precisely that by deciding she disliked Rexanna based on never having actually met the woman. In hindsight it seems so petty, so childish, but it had been damn near impossible for the silver to shake her iron-hard beliefs that women who tried to tame their men were automatically evil bunny-boilers. It will take time to shake that belief, but this is a start.

Rexanna continues, explaining that they had been going through a hard time. Guilt crawls in Nyx's stomach as she mentions the child that could have been Tembovu's, and she thinks of d'Arcy and Libertad with a note of sorrow in her eyes. Sometimes she wishes the elephant had been their father, because she knows he wouldn't have up and left as Deodat had. Perhaps the twins would have remained in Helovia for longer if their father had been around, and a king no less. It's all could have's, though, and the mare tries not to dwell.

"Truce," she replies gratefully, a warm smile encroaching on her worried features and immediately softening every line of her face. "Allow me to say, though, that you are a very lucky woman, Rexanna. It's clear for me to see that he loves you, and he is quite a remarkable man." Too good for me, the little voice in her head points out, but she tries to stifle it.

She glances around, scanning for bones to gather for Kisamoa. They might as well do it together now they're here. "Shall we search for bones for Kisamoa whilst we're here?" she questions. If the other mare agrees, Nyx begins to wander around, searching for the objects to gather up and take back. As she works, she looks over to the gold with kindness in her eyes. "Congratulations, by the way. It looks like your child is imminent - what do you think you'll have?" Her tone is conversational, although she can't help but feel a pang of jealousy - now Arakh and Esinakh have flown the nest, she's craving motherhood again, and knows what an exciting journey this mare is about to embark on.

The golden mare says she would prefer a daughter, and Nyx titters her agreement. She does adore her girls, although truthfully she has no preference. Like her, her daughters seem to be more boyish - she's yet to produce a pampered princess who shuns dirt to play dress up, with Esinakh probably coming closest due to her hatred of filth. The silver's ears prick, however, when Rexanna mentions her son being captured. "Your son was stolen?" It shows how out of touch she is with Edge gossip that she didn't even know! Heavens, she can only imagine what the poor woman went through. Nyx's children have wandered off from their own accord, but the idea of having one kidnapped....it makes her blood boil.

The question jerks her back to the present, and she ponders for a moment. "I think I've had a fairly even balance, perhaps with slightly more colts. Before I came to Helovia, I preferred daughters, because the boys were chased off by their fathers the moment they became old enough to challenge their leadership. The girls, however, would stay with me permanently, and it was lovely to build a proper bond with them and help them raise their own children." She smiles fondly, ruminating over the fact she's probably a great-great grandmother by now. That makes her feel dreadfully old!

"Here, I have no preference, as Helovia's men seem less inclined to see their sons as threats. I've had two sets of twins since arriving here, each one with a colt and a filly, and I've also adopted a pair of twin girls." The last part, the lie, has been said so often that it simply rolls off her tongue, as though it is as true as the rest. "Motherhood is the best thing in the world, but it's also the worst when they grow up and leave." Her expression turns sorrowful, thinking of Arakh, Esinakh, Libertad, d'Arcy and Enyo, all of whom have either disappeared or moved to different herds. "But those early days, when it's just you and the child, when you are their world....there's nothing like it." There's an odd sting in her eyes as she looks at Rexanna's swollen stomach, and she quickly turns aside to look for bones and to hide the sudden sadness.