Though the colt seemed agitated, he was quite reserved when he eventually spoke. Gnome thought he had a quite a bit of self-restraint for as young as he seemed. Yet, eventually his ears did tilt back in annoyance. He wondered why this colt was so set on attaining a rank. That had been the furthest thing from Gnome’s mind in his youth. It wasn’t until he’d found Lilika that he’d started to have any thoughts of running his own herd. To be sure, he had still been young then, but he’d been a little bit more seasoned than Noctis.

It seemed that the silver-maned boy would not take his advice, and questioned how he’d become a herd stallion. “I’m afraid you won’t like my answer to that, either. I lived for a short while with another stallion in the Prairie. I didn’t hold a rank, but when he left I sort of just took over.” He shifted his front end in a sort of shrug. “Times were different then. The islands were less populated and land was readily available.”

Gnome listened to Noctis as he described how joyless his childhood had been. He frowned slightly at the mention of his parents’ fighting. “I truly am sorry to hear that, Noctis. I wish I had better advice for you. I hope that whatever you decide to do, it makes you happy, and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” He meant this sincerely. It troubled him that the colt had grown up in such a way.

Gnome