Falls

The bald-faced warrior queen is as impassive as always, her poker face unreadable despite the matters that they discussed. Had he not already seen her stone-faced act before, he might have been more impressed by it, but as it was he was ambivalent. It still boggled his mind that Ensign - bright, sunny, happy Ensign - would specifically request to revisit the land of a mare so icily cold. Then again, Ironclad had found something to admire in her as well, and Bjorn, if the scent that faintly crisscrossed the land so many months ago was to be believed.

This time, Solomon is prepared for her jabs, and manages to keep his own mask in place as offers her bitter comment about gifts. In truth, the last thing he wanted to do was to give her anything else after she'd already taken Morgause and Ensign from him. It made him feel as though he were begging for her protection, rather than attempting to negotiate a mutually beneficial cease-fire. And while it was true that she had managed to best him in battle more than once, he had learned a little more each time. Soon, her ability to easily best him in battle would be over, and he would not take her bullying lying down.

He does not expect, however, for her to turn him down flatly, and a challenge glitters in his emerald eyes. Had she dragged him from his beloved herd and home simply to tell him no? Really?

After a moment, he is thankful that he has held his tongue when she continues. What she proposes is standard, although it is not a deal that he has willingly agreed to on these isles. Ironclad had proposed a similar alliance, although Solomon was still not pleased at the ham-fisted way the colt had gone about it. As allies, they shouldn't be attempting to force one another into agreements without discussing such terms first. And in truth, Xiomara was a larger threat to him than Ironclad.

The colt was bright, and ambitious, but he was new to the realm of leading and had already secured his own queen through his alliance to Rougaru. Encouraging one of his daughters in such a direction had been a plan from the beginning but was not set to gain him anything other than further friendship. This deal with Xiomara would force an alliance that would not only further protect his own herd, but also potentially give his (theoretical) daughter the chance to be a princess.

There was just the small matter of her not existing yet.

"That is an interesting choice." He begins calmly. Trading one's daughters had been a commonplace practice when he was growing up. Here, it seemed less common and frequently taboo, but he was comforted by the wording that Xiomara used and by her assertions of Ensign's freedom on the Shore previously. His daughter, it seemed, would not be a prisoner. "But one I would accept, except for two minor inconveniences. First, said daughter does not exist yet. And second, I allow my queens to decide between themselves who rules. Who is queen now might not be tomorrow."

Solomon pauses for a moment, weighing his options. Considering she had already made it clear that she did not intend to leave the conversation empty-handed, he knew that he had to offer something to appease her now. "If you will settle for a daughter from a mare I hold dear, I do have my daughter Halcyon. She is of the same age as your sons and yearns to see new lands. Else, I can send one of my sons to you as a gesture of good faith that once I do have a daughter as you describe, that I will send her to you."

Neither is a perfect solution. And none of the options are ones that he particularly enjoys, but being a ruler often meant making hard decisions. Again challenge lurks in his dark gaze as he refocuses on Xiomara, hoping that she will accept something today that will allow them to move forward. "Would either of these options suffice?"

Solomon