Koray

Koray saw his mother approach before Orhan did, and almost as a reflex his hard expression softened. With sea green eyes he looked the tall mare over, noting that the swing of her belly seemed a bit more pronounced than usual. This came as no surprise; it was the wet season, after all - when the desert's stores of food and water were replenished - and it was normal for the herd to put back on the weight they had lost over the warmer months.

Ah, the ignorance of youth.

He was expressionless as Carisa greeted Orhan, but as his mother neared him and touched his shoulder with her cool, damp nose, he forced a stiff smile onto his face. Neither he or Orhan laughed at her quip, however; the tension in the humid air was still too thick to be permeated by any pleasantness. Given that Carisa was deaf, it was only natural that she should not have heard their disagreement, but Koray's mother had a habit of being completely oblivious to what was going on. He loved his mother, but the fact that she had not picked up on their hostile body language did nothing to help assuage the irritation squirming in Koray's belly.

He watched his sire tolerate the playful tug at his ear, then resisted the urge to roll his eyes when Carisa turned her attention back to him and began to fawn over him like he was still a child. "Please, Ma," the perlino colt said with as much kindness as he could muster, and averted his eyes to stare morosely off into the rainy distance.

"Carisa," he heard his sire say, and his gaze darted back to his parents. His sire had reached forward to touch the blanketed mare's shoulder to get her attention. Orhan's face was gentle, but solemn, and Koray knew exactly what he was about to say. It might not all be bad; maybe Ma will be on my side.

"There's something we should talk about," Orhan continued. Koray waited for the inevitable glance that was to come his way, but it seemed his sire was almost as stubborn as he was; Orhan did not so much as twitch his ear in Koray's direction. "I've been discussing something with our son. His future, to be exact. And, well..."

Even in the din of the rain, the silence that Orhan let fall was deafening. Koray's skin prickled - either from anticipation or the wet, or both - and he shook himself to be rid of the discomfort.