Spartan held his peace as more stallions arrived, as though the King and he had placed down flypaper. It was certainly supportive of his cause to speak of stallions wanting the return of the Kingdom and then said stallions coming to the call. None spoke directly to him, per se, so he held his peace as they spoke with the King. Some were angry, others passive. Spartan watched it all with an interested air, his large form standing out from the group in a strong contrast to his quiet manners. The second stallion to arrive did direct a statement at him, but the arrival of yet more testosterone meant he answered with only a small grunt. He had no interest in trying to talk over others, even if his voice resonated strongly enough to be heard over them all. He rarely used this to his advantage.
Finally, Taboo began to speak again and the great head turned towards him, comically small ears straining to catch every word. He mulled the words over for a while, debating defending himself. Why had he left the Rajputs before? For starters, they had still been thriving when he left, they had not missed him. He had needed to leave Hoof Prince. He had been young when he first arrived, fresh off the heels of a tragedy. These were not ideal conditions within which it was possible to make one’s self useful. He had recognized the need to grow, to find out who he was, and to close off the ties to his old land. It had taken years, but he had returned to find the Rajputs gone. The large stallion was older, almost ten now. But he knew himself, his true self. He had simply been a machine earlier. Now, he was a true warrior. There could not be fault found in him for leaving when he did. However, he felt no need to justify this to the other stallions. If they were interested, they could ask him personally. He would not share his stories with the greater group. Especially not those of his heart.
He angled his large head towards the dual tone king, directing slow words towards him.“I can only speak for myself, Taboo, but it is unwise to question why we left. I’m sure we all had our individual reasons, some we are not so willing to share. The better question is why did we not stay? What could not hold us, where was the weak link? If we can find and fix this, then the herd of men may have a chance once more.” He had waited for a moment of quiet to make sure his words could be heard by all, quiet and low as they were. Speaking was obviously a thought-consuming strain for the large stallion. This thought was all he intended to add. The other stallions brought enough fire and accusations, but they needed to move on towards solving issues that would arise in the future. They were all on the same side now, even if some of them didn’t act it yet. He rested his gaze on each of them, trying to read their minds and assess their character. If they were to be his brothers, he would have to know them well.
SPARTAN
he will bring them DEATH and they will love him for it
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