fearghas

He knew with absolute certainty that he did not belong here. Even if the barren peaks of these rigid mountaintops didn't tell him enough of how hardy these women were, the general aura of the place would have done the same. As much as Fearghas disliked the current administration, he had to admit that he greatly preferred the warmth of the Lagoon over this fierce landscape.

At first, nothing happened and the lean young stallion began to fidget, his hide shivering as the feeling of being watched only intensified. His wide-rimmed gaze passed uneasily over the mountain tops before drifting along the treeline, certain that someone would come soon. And eventually, someone does, although it is not the person he expects. It is no mare that greets him but a similarly young stallion clad in pale white. At first, it makes him think of Kendry, but the build is vastly different and so he pushes away the comparison and focuses instead on the way the stranger's face changes from glumness to curiosity as he gets closer.

Surely this wasn't one of the leaders of the Peak, right?

"Yes," Fearghas answers cautiously at Verrat's first question, seeing no reason to lie. Even if he did not smell of the muggy Lagoon, the mud that coated his feathered limbs would be a dead enough giveaway. He is about to ask who this boy's father is, considering he doesn't look like any of the stallions currently residing in their near-empty home. Fearghas's brow draws together in surprise and then immediate distrust as Verrat names himself as Cullen's son, but is saved from the other words he might have used by the arrival of the imposing mare. As the mare approaches, he offers a short answer to the colt's question, but there is no warmth to his tone. "'E's fine."

As far as Fearghas was concerned, Cullen could go rot somewhere.

Wasp, like Cullen, carried herself like a leader and Fearghas dropped his head in respect of her as she halted. Clearly she wasn't pleased by his presence here, and considering his recent revelations concerning the way the Lagoon was run, he couldn't blame her. Swallowing hard to gather his courage, Fearghas lifts his head back up and begins.

"Pardon me ma'am. I dinna mean to intrude but I need yer help." The words spill out faster as he gains momentum. Finally, finally Cullen had agreed to some sort of offer for Ally's freedom and safety and he was going to do everything he could to make sure she was safe.

"See, I messed up real bad. I brought a mare ter the Lagoon because I was lonely, not knowing it were a mistake." He winces, and his regret at that decision is written all over his face. Even though the thought of never having met Ally was torture in and of itself, he would trade it a thousand times over from the harm he imagined that Cullen would do to her. Both ears tip back in shame as he pauses. He should've just let Ally go that day and not followed her. Maybe he could've intercepted Cullen before he made it to the Commons after them.

"I tried ter help her find a new home but Cullen found out an he wouldn't let 'er leave." Cullen wouldn't let him leave either, but that was the least of his worries. He would figure out his own future when he was certain that Ally was safe. "I finally got 'im to agree to let her go, but only if I brought back one of the Lagoon stallions from 'ere, or two new recruits from somewhere else."

His gaze drifts briefly to Verrat, and it occurs to him how strange it was that Cullen was sending him - a mostly unskilled, low rank bachelor - to rescue his blood son. Fixating his gaze back on Wasp, a small note of pleading creeps in and his muzzle juts forward a few inches in supplication. "I ken ye probably dinnae want ter let them go, but can ye help me? I dinna want Ally in the Lagoon in the fall. She's not safe there."

Not after the comments had made about Ally sacrificing her firstborn son. Fearghas would die before he let anyone force Ally into motherhood.

stallion . 2 years . 15.2 hands . smoky black blanket . loveinspired . credit