Of course he should have known better than to attack the mare with his words. He watched her ears flatten further and held himself still as he willed himself to calmness. A confrontation with the mare was the last thing he wanted, although he was certain their future would be littered with them until they learned to communicate with one another, but Şahin would much rather duke it out verbally when they were alone instead of in front of an audience. He tucked in his chin and made a conscious effort to let her words slide through his ears, taking in what she had to say while refusing to take her words personally.

He took a deep breath, then exhaled before all his rage could come spilling out. Calm. Calm. He repeated the word several times to himself and by the time he felt prepared to speak without shouting, the colt had come around from behind Xina. Şahin did not spare the protective mare a glance as he focused all of his attention on Conquistador, curious to see how the colt would react. The boy did look younger than he probably was, but that was likely due to his health. Now that Xina had pointed it out Şahin was able to see quite clearly that he was on the road to recovering his health. The Nez Perce extended his head to accept the boy’s gesture and breathed softly against the colt’s nostrils to introduce himself. His ears were forward and he managed a sincere smile for the boy, but as he lifted his head to regard Xina the brightness in his eyes turned flinty.

“Horses are safest in a herd, Xina,” he said in controlled tone. His voice was deliberately soft. It had not escaped him how she had complimented his influence on her daughter, and how her words implied she would eventually turn the colt over to his care. He must tread carefully now to avoid giving more offense, and later, when he was calmer and hopefully when Xina was more relaxed, they could discuss this situation in greater depth.

Dia had been very quiet during his exchange with the colt, and Şahin glanced at her now to press his muzzle against her neck in silent reassurance. “Now that he’s been discovered,” the golden stallion said in a lighter tone as he faced Xina and Conquistador again. “I see no reason why Conquistador should be kept from the others.” Şahin paused for a moment to relish the sound of the boy’s name on his tongue. That was a delightful name to say. “It is to his best advantage to have to protection of a herd around him while he recovers.” He leveled his gaze at Xina to see how she would react, and began mentally stacking up words for a rebuttal should she disagree with him.