What reason had he to bring the spotted stallion into his home without some sort of thorough investigation into his person first? What could have been mistaken as kindness and a general sense of brotherly affection towards the appaloosa was just a mask, behind which sat the realization that if the other man were to step out of line, Vercingetorix would have little issue kicking his skinny hide to the curb, perhaps making sure that there were a few offhand blows to be had as well.

So far, with Indian Hemp's eyes glued loyally to his own red skin and his ignorance of the women in their presence, had earned the spotted stallion his right to stay in the forest for the time being. The red dun was not an entirely empathetic creature, and felt as though he would have preferred to know as much about the stallion as he could before letting him run unbidden through the herd, but for now it seemed that the distance that was respectfully left between Indian Hemp and the forest herd was enough to warrant a softening of his suspicions. “You are welcome here as long as you need shelter...” Vercingetorix flicks a glance in the direction of Costello who stands closest, looking as though she wanted introductions to be made. “...as long as you mind your manners.” He says softly, once more looking back to the stallion.

After a moment or two of sizing up the appaloosa (don't be insulted, it was a habit for the red dun to constantly be on his toes around other men, thanks to the unfortunate mishap of his father) Vercingetorix finally twists his body, aiming to amble slowly up the small incline of the river bank and put himself slightly off to the side of Syndrome, who looked as though she was trying to close up within herself, perhaps to avoid acknowledgement or attention from the currently unknown stallion. Eyeing the tall grullo paint, he finally decides to introduce them. “This is Syndrome, and Costello-” he dives a little jerk of the head in the direction of the bay mare. “I suppose you may as well get to know each other if you're living here.” His dark eyes find their way once more to the stallion's face, staring at him long and hard for a few moments before turning back to Costello.

Feeling somewhat surrounded by relatively quiet creatures was somewhat intimidating for the stallion, being that he had never been the sort to go against instinct and found that there was a rather tense air between the four of them, between Costello's muteness (he suspected as much, being that he had never once heard a single sound from her, let alone a word), Indian Hemp's awkwardness, and Syndrome's apparent shyness, that left only his sturdy voice to be heard.

male, red dun, ee aa Dd, crossbreed, 15.1 hh.
mordred x blackwort.