The horse was proving to be difficult to control. It was frustrating, Navia prided herself in her ability to work with horses, but they had not had long to form a relationship with Varinata and trust was necessary when working with a scared horse. The mare continued to thrash against her hold, yanking Navia around and pulling hard when Théadan began to yell and try to scare the leopard away. “Vari, please!” Navia gasped, hands twisting in the reins as she tried to pull and keep the horse from fleeing. She could see Théadan driving the leopard back, could hear it snarling at him as the sword swung threateningly. She prayed it worked, that the leopard would give up and leave, and that Vari would calm if the cat left.<br/><br/>She had thought her plan had been a good one, had been the path of least resistance when dealing with the leopard, but she had not planned on Varinata panicking over seeing the predator. Navia probably would not have put herself in such a spot then, for she felt the horse’s strength overpowering her own and her body flailing more than she had presumed would happen. She had thought it would be a quick fix as well, but it was proving difficult to drive the leopard from their camp in the amount of time Navia had predicted. The loud whack of the sword against a tree seemed to do it though, and Navia briefly had a view of the leopard darting into the thick jungle foliage. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the sharp sound of metal striking wood set Vari off all over again.<br/><br/>She reared back violently, shrilly whinnying in an attempt to escape all the chaos. It swung Navia around, only to be forced to a stop by calm Wyndagar’s strong shoulder. Her own shoulder rammed into his side, knocking the wind out of her brief in a rush of a loud gasp, and she stumbled while trying to keep a hold on Vari’s reins. “Théadan—“ She started to call, wanting his help in trying to calm the frenzied mare, but was cut off when Varinata shook her head and thrust back on her hind legs again, voice shrill with her whinnies. The reins were pulled taut again and Navia instinctively released them, not wishing to be tossed around again. Her shoulder was throbbing, her arms aching from trying to control the far stronger animal, and she feared what damage Vari could do. She had not thought the horse would be so strong, had not thought she would panic the way she had. She was beginning to realize the mistake she had made.<br/><br/>It appeared the horse had not realized the reins had been released right away and fearing the way her kicking legs flailed in the air so close to her, Navia ducked under Wyndagar’s neck to put him between her and Vari. Gasping, having not realized the strain trying to control their new horse had put on her, Navia leaned her shoulder against Wyn’s side, her hand reaching to rub the injured shoulder on her other side. It was then the mare realized she was no longer being held in place and shook her head, snorting heavily and taking a quick trot in a circle, the agitation obvious in her tense silver body. All Navia could hope was Théadan would be able to get ahold of Vari or she would calm on her own and not leave their side with the leopard now somewhere in the jungle. Navia was too worn out to approach the horse for a second round.