all these countless nights

otem You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold Hearing her Father reiterate precisely the sentiment she wanted to hear made Otem beam with pride and the shiny feeling of success. She supposed it wasn't really manipulation given her Father's penchant for violence and protecting his kin, but even so, the first few seeds of the wordsmith and emotional-manipulator that Otem would become, had been planted and watered by this early success. That he was equally concerned about her wounds also stroked the girl's ego. Otem feigned a shrug as her Father mentioned her older brother as her eyes darted down to the crusty and painful cut on her shoulder. "I don't want to bother him .. he's probably so busy." Otem cooed, wanting to sound as though she was more interested in the wellfare of others over herself. Quickly however her guise of selflessness disappeared as a figure appeared through the trees. With a start Otem's body tensed and she moved to hide behind the bulk of Volterra's rocky shoulder. She felt childish and embarrassed for being spooked so easily, but it was clear from the mare's appearance and her Father's reaction to her that she was not from Helovia. The autumn-coloured girl felt a shaky sense of relief come over her as her Father took charge. What would she have done if he wasn't present? Would she let herself be healed (or possibly maimed again)? Would she have died out in this forest, trying to prove that she was more than just a moody and troubled child? Pressing herself close to Volterra, Otem peaked around his shoulder. She wanted to appear confident if not for herself, but to continue Volterra's reputation of being fearless (which implied that his offspring should be fearless as well), but her shoulder really did hurt, and the tribrid was not up for being autonomous right this second. Right now she was more than happy to be a daddy's girl, and let Volterra dictate what they should do.

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