Rehoboam was more than a little surprised at Nahawi's sudden vehemence and allowed his own careful mask to slip back into place. He'd learned to wield one after watching his father for man years, and had employed it many, many times over the years. In truth, it was not the content of Nahawi's protest that surprised him, but the vehemence behind it.

"Oh?" Reh answered after a moment, filing away the fact that the child was not a random child after all, but Nahawi's own flesh and blood. His first, perhaps. No wonder he was feeling so protective over the child. "And what have they done, exactly?"

The tobiano had had his own run-ins with the Peak over the years, but he had been extremely judicious in his selection during his last challenge. He knew little about the buckksin stallion he'd issued a challenge for, but that had been part of the allure. Güneşlenmek's did not carry the same notoriety as Cullen or Beloved, which was a huge mark in his favor. The last thing Reh wanted to do was bring another problem child into their number, but any of them were a risk. A risk that was worth taking with the elections drawing near. With the brothers being largely silent as of late, there was no telling how many of them would show up to vote, and thereby no way to guarantee their numbers.

He had hoped to bring Güneşlenmek here with the caveat that he would be free to scuttle "home" once the elections were done, but the red spotted mare had won her victory fairly. The old him would have likely tried to bargain with the Peak to earn the "good" ones back, but he had no elected rank to his name and no way to guarantee anyone anything.

"The sisters might be intense, but for a little girl in need of raising and protection? Perhaps not a bad choice." He thought of Osiris, and of the dangers she had faced because of his reluctance to put her somewhere safe. He had gotten lucky in that Osiris had been weaned by the time she'd joined him, and so had no need for a nursemaid. "Do you have family on the isles?"

StallionMutt15.2hGrullo TobianoSolomon x Keres