Drogon

The two of them wait out the brief intermission in silence, both of them casting their gazes awkwardly away from each other. Regardless of sharing a mother, Drogon found little that he truly liked in the cunning face of his sister and given half a reason, would have gladly left her behind on the mainland. The last thing that he wanted to do was to bring another traitor into Paradise to undermine his father's legacy… but he knew that Rougaru wished to meet her.

And he owed Rougaru everything.

Movement from their side catches his ear, separate from the normal rhythms of the jungle and as he turns toward the noise, he notices that Vivienne follows suit after watching him. An answering smile spreads across his lips at his father's warm greeting and he releases the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He'd been away far longer than he'd intended to be, but Vanya had done well to mask her tracks. He had known that she'd gone from the Peak to the Crossing proper, and had heard rumors that she'd risked her freedom in the Commons as well, but it had become painfully clear thereafter that she was alone. And without any knowledge of what his baby sibling had looked like, finding them had become a game of chance.

But he was triumphant, and while this was perhaps not much in the grand scheme of things, he knew that it would be important to Rougaru. Pricking his ears forward, Drogon allows his own neck to arch proudly as he looks between father and daughter. Casting his gaze between the two of them, it was more evident than ever that the girl was a perfect blend of mother and father. Rougaru's influence was perhaps not as obvious as Vanya's, but the girl wore the same pale mane and tail as her father, fading from a rich caramel at the roots to a pale cream at the ends. Her eyes, too, held traces of their father's intelligent green near the iris's and the same slow, smart cunning that Rougaru was known for.

He stretches forward to return Roug's affectionate greeting with one of his own, a proud curl reforming on his own charcoal lips. I was beginning to worry, Rougaru began and Drogon answered with a shake of his head. "I was careful." In truth, he still didn't understand why Ironclad had attempted to challenge for him. He barely knew the Inlet lead, beyond the few cursory words they had spoken at his brother's funeral. A part of him was curious to see what he may learn from his nephew, but he was also leery of someone who had wanted to make him captive, to be traded and sold and transferred like a mare.

Who have you brought with you? Drogon's gaze flicks back to his sister sharply, half expecting her to interject before he can introduce her, but she remains quietly watchful. "My sister, Vivienne." The girl's dark lashes flutter at the sound of her name, and her petite dished face inclined subtly at her introduction. "She was in the Falls, but my mother was not with her."

---

Vivienne remains silent for the exchange between the two stallions, her gaze focused sharply on the larger male. She held hardly any interest in males as reproductive partners, but she could see why her mother had fallen for him. He looked stronger and more handsome than most of the men she spied on in the Crossing, plus he had a way of looking at her that made everything else around her - the jungle noises, her brother, the sea breeze - fade away.

She lets Drogon speak for her at first so that she can simply take the time to record every small response that her father gives to her introduction. As much as Vivienne would like to remain skeptical about her parentage, she could not deny the similarities between herself and this stallion. Plus, everything else fit as well.

"Hello," she murmurs sweetly when her brother finishes, and extends her muzzle toward him as well, expectantly. "I am told that you are my father, Rougaru. Is that true?" Her gaze cut sideways to where the younger stallion stood proudly, and she repressed a smirk. She could toy with them a little more - perhaps twist the young male's words and sow doubt in their minds by pretending she was no more than a captive, but she opted not to. The thought of having a parent that didn't dislike her because of jealousy was far more tempting than a little bit of teasing. Still, she couldn't help the last words that slip from her lips. "Or has Drogon been lying?"

Can you feel it?