OOC: Speeding this up since I lost time being away.

Last Summer he had not known who this palomino roan was. He showed up out of nowhere to vote against him in the election like he was some kind of savior for Fearghas. The young appaloosa was too experienced to overtake everything he has built in the Lagoon, but someday that may change. Someday someone with more experience and more skill might appear when he was too old to fight them off. This is why he had high hopes for Verrat as a boy. The pureness of his son’s coat made his heart too soft. He sometimes wonders if Witch had the sharp tongue of her mother and the balls that Verrat lacked. Though a female could have never controlled these stallions, or own the Lagoon, she was probably out there somewhere bossing some poor sap around. Cullen was lucky to avoid the stress of raising a daughter. Instead, he had a son he was disappointed in. The boy had shown great promise when he stood up to Bozena, but his injury from the fight left him unable to stand up to anyone like that again.

Now he sticks to the feelings of love just like Fearghas had. What was wrong with the next generation? He wills one day for the mystery child he had with Lilly to return and to be the son he was searching for. Perhaps Thanatos would return. The child could not see properly, but he had proven to be interesting in his young state. He could still become something great or just become the best partner Cullen needed to navigate through these troubled times. Cullen has attempted to find a young colt to raise into becoming the new leader. He had high hopes for Nagendra, but he has disappeared. He tried to take sons of Felony to keep the Lagoon bloodline in power, but that vision was fading away. Maybe he could find someone of Thane relation to really kick this place into gear. Thane was the entire reason he was brought here, but it was unlikely his blood stayed behind in the islands after his disappearance centuries ago. His own blood will just have to be enough.

I mean Cullen was the son of a Lagoon Boss. He heard stories of Rade when he was young from his mother. He longed to meet him at first, but after the roaming bachelors took him his care for his father dwindled into nothing. It wasn’t until he met his brother Fiero that some interest came back. This was when he learned Rade had become the Lagoon head at one point. Rade had made himself a legend around these parts and Cullen made the decision that he would continue his legacy (assuming he was dead). He applied to become the next leader after Argento left the islands. Being the longest inhabitant of the Lagoon, he was awarded the position and has been the head of these men ever since. He was their Captain, their leader. Cullen took an empty Lagoon and worked hard to fill it. Sure, he had push back from those that hated him, but he still become successful. He was intelligent and strong until the war left him near death. Bozena took advantage at a time he could not defend anyone so Verrat stepped up from his devotion of his father and leader. His son was the only one and he praised him for it.

Now his son hates him for what he did to Ivanna. How could he have known the child had feelings for the girl? The Lagoon was slowly building up once more with new faces, but he missed the group he once had. Cullen’s bones now crack all the time and at times he hurt from injuries of the past. He was growing too old for all the trouble this earth created, but he was not ready to lay down and die. He was not ready to let his enemies win. He would continue to fight until he was at peace. He would continue to seek vengeance to those that have caused all his troubles. Ruger, his father, Fearghas, Bozena, and Cherish. There were more of course, but those names were towards the top of his list. Eventually something would have to give. He was determined that something would not be him so he decided to target Fearghas first. His father too. Cherish was just an added consolation prize. His mother had always been easy to overcome, but at the same time she seems to surprise him. The old gal had given him one more sibling and this sibling turned out to be something he was looking for. A brother of Felony blood.

Tyr challenge and won his prize from Fearghas. Cullen stands awaiting Rade’s arrival and the epic father son bonding that would soon take place. His dear brother Beloved stays a few paces away waiting for the time to appear. Cullen would give him the signal when he was ready. ”Cullen.” His voice of the old stallion causes his ears to flicker. A grin slides over his lips as his body turns to face Rade, a fresh coat of red blood painting his pale colored hooves. He chuckles at his father’s comments. Rade asks why he was so interested now when he had done nothing to capture him while he stayed in the Peak. His white tail flips behind him as his nose raises to stare his father in the eyes. His blue eyes, the eyes of his mother, hold the depth and horror his mother’s never had. ”I did not realize who you were at that time. My own father voting against me for some young pup who knew nothing of leadership. How dare you.” His voice darkens. ”You once had the privilege of running a band of stallions yourself did you not? You must know what it feels like. This power…and I have held this power for many years. I have built this Lagoon from nothing after the last leader abandoned it to my care. Thing may not have gone perfectly, but here I still stand. Stallions from all over still gather here and I still command them.”

Cullen shifts his weight with a pop of one of his joints. His chest bulges out to display the multitude of scars that mark his flesh. ”Tell me why you left your role as the Lagoon’s leader. Did someone take it from you or did you decide you no longer wanted it?” He was curious to find out the differences between himself and his father. He was also seeking answers from questions once asked long ago. His front leg suddenly rises and slams down his hoof into the hard dirt. ”Most of all tell me why you decided to create me. Was my mother, your half-sister, just that appealing to you?” Disgust quickly covers his face. A familiar voice arose shortly after his last question. Cullen had no questions to who it was, a brother of his he had failed to return home. He had tried to defeat Bozena, as had Tyr, but he remined in the Peak. Now he walks into the Lagoon with a changed air about him. What was he doing? Cullen’s eyes narrow as his half-brother greets him. The air around them becomes more tense them ever before as it is clear where his brother stands.

Not exactly near their father, but obviously in cohorts. ”I have missed you Fiero. You have been the only family member to tell me the most about our father, but you also had more time with him than I have had with you. That is obvious.” He knew what was going on here. He could feel it in the air. He did not need to ask for specifics, but he did need Fiero to know he had enjoyed his company once. ”Your mate and child have been kept safe in the Lagoon awaiting your return,” he adds as a reminder he has always shown his brother some loyalty. His eyes return to their father. ”How about we add some more family members to this party?” His head tosses up as he nickers to the young boy awaiting his turn. A two-year-old figure cloaked in shadow emerges. The colt was pitch black aside from the mark on white on his shoulder with gleaming amber eyes like that of a wolf. The boy also had small splatters of blood along his legs, chest, and hooves. Cullen grins as the colt comes to stand beside him and stares at the two grown stallions across from him with a face of little emotion. ”This is Beloved,” Cullen introduces his young brother. ”He is the son of Cherish and Ruger. One day he might take over this place with my teachings. He has the perfect bloodline for it and the perfect demeanor if only he applies himself. Oh, that reminds me!” Cullen’s eyes alight with anticipation as he stares at his father.

Cullen’s picks up a walk and begins to form a large circle around Rade, Beloved, and Fiero. ”You see father, when you lost mother to the Lagoon I was born into a life of thievery and brutality. Everything that I have done is your fault. Mother did not protect me from the band of wandering stallions that captured us. They took us to the mainland where I learned how to fight and how to be a true leader and a true bachelor. That day mother birthed my brother Avilious they had decided she needed to learn her place in their band and that I needed proper training of how to kill. I was forced to play along in their games.” He stops, not just inches from touching noses with his sire. ”I should kill you for being my maker. I should kill you for falling into temptation and breeding with your sister. I am your first-born child, you progeny son. I am your legacy and so is the rest of my bloodline. Everything I am and everything I have done falls upon your shoulders. You are the cause for it all. You owe me an apology and you own mother one.” Cullen stays standing close to his sire as he stares him down.

”If you would like to see our mother before she takes her last breath I would hurry. She probably doesn’t have much time left. Beloved will take you.” Cullen glances to his little bother who just nods once before turning away from the group. He begins to walk away from the group where he would lead whoever followed to the place his mother lay bleeding in the dirt. Cullen stays where he was with eyes glued to his sire. If Fiero wishes to betray him, fine. He will do to his mate just as he has done to his mother. He will then take little Fuego and raise him to be Beloved’s competition for the colt also shares the perfect bloodline for ruling the Lagoon.