It was strange, how calmly Conquistador was able to face his fears when he felt the gentle caress of the brother's burnished-gold coat on his own. Turning a gentle brown eye to the other stallion, the paler palomino could not help but to return Rade's smile, an expression that smoothed the furrows and lines that had aged his youthful face. Standing beside his brother was more comfortable than he had expected it to be - each second as fulfilling as the briny air Conquistador sucked into his lungs. For a long time, there was only the sound of the sea and the harmony of their heartbeats. Then, finally, Rade's voice broke the companionable silence.

The air rushed from the boy's lungs in a sigh of relief. Rade was not commanding him to leave, but cajoling him; he was still free to stay, if that was his wish. Conquistador shifted slightly on the sandbar, angling his body toward his brother, and met the unexpected warmth of his elder sibling's eyes. Longing burned in the molten gold of Rade's gaze, tempered by a loneliness that caused Conquistador's lungs to contract and his heart to ache. In that instant, he wished that he could give his brother any answer but the one that left his lips - his words compassionate even as the sight of Sahin and Xina nearby gave him the courage to speak them.

"Brother, I am sorry." Conquistador began, touching his muzzle to the other palomino's cheek. "But Atlantis is my home, and this herd has become my family. I belong here." He sucked in another breath, though the air burned like fire now, scorching-hot in his throat and his chest. The boy's will threatened to falter with each new scar that his eyes alighted upon, tokens of the bachelor's violent - and vulnerable - life. Close to surrendering himself in an attempt to save the wretched creature before him, Conquistador closed his eyes and continued.

"You could stay," the young stallion offered, though he was certain that Sahin would not welcome the Lagoon's king in his lands. "You told me Atlantis was once your home. It can be again." It was his turn to beg now, though he was not blessed with the same natural charisma that had almost made Rade's attempts successful. "Please, brother. You - you don't need to fight anymore. You could be safe." His voice was little more than a whisper, and tears began to trace a path down his cheeks. "What you've been doing - it's dangerous. You could die."

Glancing back at the two who had become his family, the boy willed them to understand why he could not turn and walk away. Until now, Conquistador hadn't realized how much Rade meant to him. Whatever else the roan stallion might be, he was his brother, his savior. And the thought of losing him - of their tenuous bond being torn apart by the violence that was such a vital part of the other stallion's existence - was suddenly unbearable.