Had Solomon possessed the perspective with which to view their interaction on a macro scale, with the ability to scale back through time and watch precisely which events had led to which outcomes, he might have been better able to understand how it had all arrived at this point. To understand that Cicek's connection to Rivaini and Faolain, and her separation from them, had led her down a desperate path. That his effort to keep her safe and protected in the Cove had severed her hope, and made her reckless. That Rougaru had simply taken advantage of an opportunity no different than what Solomon might have done, had the roles been reversed.

But he lacks this perspective.

His hope rises precipitously as Rougaru confirms that he had seen Cicek, and that he had brought her here to recover. Recover from what? Solomon does his best to mask the racing of his thoughts, slamming the mask over his expression before it can give away how uneasy he suddenly felt. As though the ground beneath his feet had been pulled out from under him, leaving him upright but inches away from where he'd been before.

Was she alright? If she had been sick and disoriented, it could explain why she had not returned home, but that left only further questions about how she had gotten sick in the first place and why her first thought had been to flee to the Meadows. None of these questions held a candle to the one that raced circles around his empty mind like a stunt motorcyclist in a wire cage. Why hadn't she come home. Where was she? Was she safe? Protected? Had anyone hurt her while she was in the meadow, or taken advantage of her disoriented state?

Had she decided she didn't want to be with him anymore? If she decided she was over him that was one thing, and painful enough to think about… but Sevket too?

If Solomon had possessed the presence of mind to be able to focus on the current situation and the subtle cat-that-got-the-cream confidence of his chocolate ally, he might have been more suspicious. As it was, he was too distracted by the tantalizing possibility proposed by his ending query to logic his way through the situation. Perhaps she had gone home to Tinuviel. He certainly hadn't been home in a few days to see for himself and the prospect of Cicek being home and reuniting with their son was powerful enough to make the possibility seem probable. Even if the odds of her having randomly returned to the Cove after months upon months of being gone were slim to none, he was entranced by the thought of it.

Jaw tight, he nods to himself before refocusing on the present with a slow intake of breath. "I hope so," and he did, fervently. In truth, he was already feeling anxious with the desire to be away from here and on his way back to the Cove just so he could see for himself if such things were true. "If you see her again, please let me know. And send her home." His gaze slides from Rougaru to Monster. He did not know either of them well - but if he had to guess which one of them would side more deeply with the emotional plea he had made, he was certain who his bet would be on.

Even though Solomon knew that Cicek would object to being told to do much of anything, let alone to return to a home she clearly did not want to be a part of at the moment, he wanted to make it clear to both Rougaru and Monster that she did not belong here. It was a subtle way of pressing his claim on the beautiful spotted mare more adamantly, given that he was well aware of Rougaru's voracious appetite for mares. While it was true that Rougaru had not appeared to proclaim any ownership of her in his little statement, Solomon wanted to ensure that it stayed that way.

"I should be going." His gaze ducked quickly toward the ocean, and the waves that beckoned him outward despite the lingering sea salt on his skin. His gaze trails down the beach for a moment as he turns back and it occurs to him that he should at least update his ally on the state of things so that there were no further misunderstandings between them. "For the sake of our alliance, you should know that your new neighbor in the Harbor is a former queen of the Cove, and her son is my own." He did not mean to imply that Rougaru should ally with her, only that he should be aware that Solomon had a vested interest in her success. "I have also heard that we have a mutual alliance in Faolain," he said with a subtle hint of sharpness. It had occurred to him that Faolain's sudden alliance with the chocolate stallion - once well known for his aversion to mare leaders - was strangely and perhaps coincidentally timed with Rivaini's surprise pregnancy. In truth, it reminded him vividly of the circumstances that had led to his alliance with Valka.

That being said, Solvarr's conception, while unplanned, had not been forced on either one of them. Hopefully, the same could be said for Rivaini's baby, whoever the father was. Deciding to be bold, Solomon continues with an appraising look on his face. "It's yours, isn't it? Rivani's child?"

Solomon