The answer to that question? Rhaego was truly foolish enough to confront her after all that had been done. He could be dense and mulishly stubborn about understanding the complicated thoughts and logic of the fairer gender, but he could understand Aileen was angry with him. Beyond angry. Or at least she had been; that had been at the cusp of autumn and winter. But if he had to surmise anything from the frustratingly few times he'd spied her over the past season and a half, it was that some bitter emotions still lingered for whatever reason. Grudgingly he recalled her censuring words in their confrontation - she blamed him for the time that she had spent in Brannis... and blamed his interest in the amber-coated fem from Paraiso. He snorts as he trudges through the familiar forest, flaring nostrils held low towards the brush as he moved, the fire of defensive anger threatening to overcome him again. Perhaps her words held an ounce of truth, but had she not been happy to leave the frozen land behind when he had finally located her? Did she not recall seeing the travel-weary and worn condition that he had arrived in to rescue her? He'd spent weeks exhausting every feasible possibility of her disappearance only to discover that it had been a mare to blame for her disappearance. He had searched for her though, kept the Dale safe she likewise held dear, and returned her home... wasn't that all that mattered? She was here now and he guarded the borders of their home more vigilantly than ever now, cause he'd be damned if some other fool thought to take her from him again. Not once since then had they even tried which left the mealy beast smug - let them try him. They would fail and be crushed beneath his hooves if they so much as even stared at her too long.

The possessiveness he felt towards most all of his harem somehow seemed amplified with the dryad mare, stronger than what he had experienced before - it was likely that the fact that she had been stolen away and missing for the extended time helped that matter none, but there had always been something unique about the pretty Spanish Mustang that held his attention and challenged him in so many ways. She tested his patience on many occasions, but also challenged him to live up to the bargain they had struck in the beginning... to truly strive for and earn the loyalty that she'd offered in beginning by keeping her a suitable home here in the Dale. When everything else shifted around them, Aileen had remained loyal - a constant and comforting presence that did not change with the rest. Now, however was different and it irked him.

Rhaego was determined though, that somewhere beneath that bitter exterior the nymph had gained, there was still that same loyal and frustrating mare he'd met in the beginning. Time healed wounds and surely Aileen would not be quite so... cold... this time around, especially with the season upon them. This was the stallion's driving motivation as he eventually drew nearer to the mare, picking up one of the paths that he knew she often traveled through the forest on patrol. Her scent grew stronger and with it, the hefty stallion's ears press keenly forward, his eyes bright and alert. He no longer bothered to scent the ground or the brush in search of her trail, but instead drank in the air around him eagerly, savoring the longtime and familiar scent that was uniquely Aileen and yet somehow like the very embodiment of the Dale itself, blended perfectly together. He missed that scent. However, as he continued at the steady walk on down the path, he was mildly surprised to find the smoky cream appaloosa facing him with a deep scowl upon her face when he stumbled upon her. Rhaego huffed, pulling up short with russet-hued ears flicking back in hesitation at her expression, taking a moment to gauge the seriousness of the situation before doing anything more. He returned her gaze steadily with a stubbornness to rival whatever she decided to throw at him, determined to keep his cool as he studied closely, watchful for any indicator of how she would react to him.