Common

You, she snarls, and he was relieved to find that she was still there, beneath the sadness. Still just as furious with him, despite the fact that he'd been perfectly behaved so far - no pushing, or shoving, or biting - and had even kept his distance which went against every instinct he had. Or he did, at least, until whatever her next insult was faltered on her tongue and disintegrated into a sob. Worry creased his brow and he stepped forward, sidling so that his painted figure aligned with hers, instinctively trying to press his muzzle against her neck in comfort.

She seemed oblivious to his presence for a moment, lost in whatever pain had reduced her to what she was now, but she froze beside him and then snapped at his face. Raegar pulled his head back, away from the sting of her snapping teeth, but did not leave her side. Angry or not, she still looked like she might fall over if he breathed too hard and he didn't want to see her brought any lower.

She said his name though, and a grin broke through the worried look on his face. She remembered him. Granted, considering he'd kidnapped her from a life in the Lagoon and then immediately lost her before he could form the sort of connection he'd wanted with her, he doubted that he was that forgettable.

The little wildcat took advantage of his momentary distraction - his memories lingering on the way he'd finally introduced himself on that sandy spit of shoreline - and shoved him half a step away. "No." He said firmly, trying to return to his earlier position. For a moment, he didn't respond to the rest of her statement, mostly because he wasn't sure how to. In all of his scuffles with the Bay lead, he had never once heard Fell utter a word. But that wasn't really the point she was making, and he knew it. He knew it because the mention of Fell's name out of her pretty mouth brought back the memory of his failure to keep her, of the pain of losing her so soon after he'd actually gained her. Raegar frowned, her words having found their mark.

The thing was, Fell wasn't here. Raegar was.

"So am I," he said, though his words carried neither threat nor appeasement. "Is that supposed to change my mind about you?" His eyes narrowed as he tried to meet her gaze, wishing - not for the first time - that he was better at reading the moods of others. He wished he knew the right words to say to bring the fierce little lioness back to herself. "His opinion doesn't matter." He made the equivalent of a shrug, his tail flicking across his hocks. "Only ours does. So tell me again, little lioness, why I should go away at all?"

young stallion - mutt - seal bay overo - 15.1h - rafe x velahrn