to live and burn is
the most exquisite form of self destruction

Though the first gathering of bachelors was small, the roan stallion was not discouraged. More important was how attentively the audience listened, and how his words were received. With the support of neither the Peak nor the Lagoon, there was little hope for change. And while Rade was willing to fight Cullen if there was no alternative, he did not believe that was a battle he could win. Though he still held himself with the confidence and bearing of a stallion half his age, the truth was that the years had weathered him as the sea weathered a stone. His reflexes were slower now, and his strength had waned. In the skirmishes he’d participated in since returning to the islands, Rade had been forced to back down from all save one - and the single male he’d defeated had been nearly as old as he.

It was no easy thing, accepting that the sun of his life had nearly set. But one could argue that in the moments that preceded total darkness, its light burned more brightly than at the pinnacle of its climb.

Perhaps that was why the old stallion felt a shiver of heat course through his veins at the dark overo’s words. The taste of victory was heady enough that even his son’s pragmatic words were unable to touch him. What the Vulcans wanted mattered little to Rade; he had made them an offer, and they had declined. Having surrendered their power in the decision willingly, they would have no grounds to challenge the right of the Lagoon to choose its next leader. “We will need as many allies as we can muster from among the men,” the ex-Boss responded to both Fiero and Collision, his gold eyes traveling between the pair. “If the Lagoon can be seized without bloodshed, that would tip the scales even further in our favor. I do not believe there are many willing to face Cullen in battle, and I would not ask that of them. If it comes to violence, I will make that stand.”

Despite the uncertainties that plagued him, Rade’s voice was unwavering and self-assured. As if he was confident of victory, and not death. But for him, the decision had already been made during his conversation with Bondurant. The sacrifice of a life almost spent was not so much, after all, in the face of what stood to be gained. But the vow did remind him that Adelheid was not his only ally. “There is one outside the grasp of both Lagoon and Peak who has also vowed to aid us in whatever manner he can. But before we can move against Cullen, the Vulcans must first be convinced of their captives’ penance. That is that task I would have you take on - speak to the mares, tell them of your regrets. They alone hold the key to your freedom.” As neither captive nor pawn, the roan stallion mentioned nothing of his own freedom. So far, his movements had been permitted unchecked - and if any woman thought to oppose him, he would show them why he made a better ally than enemy.

Having spoken his piece, Rade’s restless limbs began to turn his body away from the pair, his amber gaze following the path that twisted through the trees, and would lead him out into the Falls. He needed to think, and the Peak was simply too crowded to accomplish that. But at the last moment before he began to walk away, the burnished stallion turned back, one final request parting his lips. “The boy who fought the Peak’s general before you were taken captive - I should like to speak with him, if he is amenable. Tell him that, should you see him. Tell him that I will meet him in the mountain clearing on the night of autumn’s first full moon.” There was much that needed to be discussed between Rade and Cullen’s son, and it would not do for the wrong ears to hear it.

But he did not offer this explanation to the bachelors he left in his wake. Collision was unlikely to know the full details of the circumstances that had brought Cullen into being. And while Fiero might suspect, it was best that his suspicions remain unconfirmed - for the sake of a past that was better off buried, and the future they hoped to rebuild.

stallion . twenty-one . palomino roan . mustang mix . 15.1hh
debonaire x neassa