But I just said where we were going! The smaller colt hadn't even factored in her initial desire to approach and intercept Tyr. In truth, Roisin would not have put it past the Lagoon's General to be out here teaching his son the best way to ensnare and entrap mares via first-hand experience. Even so, guilt blossomed in her chest at the boy's indignant reply, as if considering the possibility that he might be telling the truth for the first time.
The boy's question, however, earned only a bitter downturn of her lips. Why would they indeed? Probably, in her estimation, because it could still get them what they wanted. Pretending that they only wished to take the blonde mare to the Falls could be an innocuous way of earning her trust before they inevitably ripped the rug out from underneath her hooves. Or worse, perhaps Tyr was only taking her to the Falls so that he could do as he pleased without the watchful eye of the Peak or Lagoon directly upon him. This was... far more unlikely given the boy's presence, but Roisin had been sent away from her parents for their alone time often enough to know it didn't completely rule it out.
As much as Roisin desperately wanted to find peace between the Peak and the Lagoon, and to forge a new path forward between their herds, Tyr remained a sticking point for her. She could not forgive the callous way he'd held her captive once, nor for turning a blind eye to the plight of countless other captive mares that had been forced to call the Lagoon home. Some of whom, she imagined, were only there because of him in the first place.
And if she were really, really honest? She couldn't forgive him for swaying Oswin, either.
But even to the stubborn young mare, it was painfully obvious that Tyr was masterfully shifting the conversation back onto her shoulders and making her seem like the instigator. Which, while fair, could also serve to conceal his true intentions with the pretty palomino mare. Stubbornly, she dug in one last time, her brow cocking as the question left her lips. "And what of after the Falls, Tyr?"
Absolutely no part of Roisin was willing to believe that he would have let this mare be. Not after he'd continued to hold the spotted blue mare prisoner in the Lagoon even after Rade had said they wouldn't hold captives anymore. In this, Roi absolutely believed that Tyr would lie to get what he wanted. Of course, the fact that they were going north to the Falls instead of west to the Meadow didn't really add much credence to Roisin's suspicions, but it didn't stop her from being certain that the Lagoon stallions had other motives. Not to mention, both the Falls and the Meadow were only marginally safer than the Commons in Fall.
Turning back to the mare finally, Roisin's expression softened apologetically and she relaxed some of the stiff, defensive posture with which she had entered. "Forgive me. My name is Roisin." A faint smile ghosted across her lips, but faded quickly. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but it is my job to watch over the Commons and to make sure that mares, like you, are not forced into situations they don't want." She paused for a moment, her posture relaxing further as embarrassment caught up to the rest of her. "I won't stop you if you want to go with him, just know that the Lagoon is traditionally a place for stallions only. And while they are better than they were," she did her best to keep her tone neutral, but the words tasted bitter on her tongue in this context, "it remains a place that isn't particularly welcoming to mares."
Turning back to the men, she focused her attention on the boy again, unable to shake the guilt of ignoring him a moment ago. Someday he might mature into the same sort of stallion as Tyr (a metamorphosis she was poignantly aware she might be making worse by butting in), but he wasn't one yet.
He was still a child.
"I owe you an apology as well," she said with another brief smile. Regardless of whether or not they were lying, she had ignored the boy in her desperation to stop Tyr. "I shouldn't have ignored you." Apologies made, her gaze cut back to the mare again. "And I'm sorry for not asking your name earlier..?" She trailed off into a question, almost wishing she hadn't intervened in the first place.