Though he waited in stoic silence for Conquistador's response, Rade was not as unaware of Xina's intrusion as he appeared to be. The bachelor stallion could taste the tension that charged the air with every breath he took, could feel the impending conflict in the thrumming beat of his own heart. But though the blood in his veins boiled at the warning the bay mare's less-than-warm welcome concealed, Rade refused to be drawn into a pointless and destructive battle with Xina. Despite their differences, they were still family - the last remnants of Debonaire's legacy.

As if to seal the silent pact of his brother's thoughts, Conquistador reached out to Rade, touching his muzzle to the bachelor's scarred cheek. It had been so long since the roan stallion had shared such intimacy with another creature that he wasn't sure how to react. Torn between the instinct to pull away and the impulse to return the gesture, Rade stood rigid - unmoving save the erratic rise and fall of his lungs. Then Conquistador began to speak, and his words ripped a hole through Rade's chest, leaving a gaping hollow that the air he breathed could not hope to fill.

He had underestimated, until that moment of unbearable agony, how much his brother meant to him.

Feeling his composure begin to break beneath temptation of Conquistador's offer, Rade turned abruptly away from his sibling. Even if he were truly welcome to stay here, he could not. He didn't belong to this world the way his brother did. Masking his remorse beneath a humorless laugh, the palomino roan shook his head, still staring determinedly out to sea. “And how would you have me stay, brother? By challenging your 'father' for ownership of these lands? By tearing your beloved family apart?” The pain Rade had worked so hard to repress was released in a rush of bitter anger toward those who Conquistador had claimed as his family; he could feel his tenuous control slipping, and struggled against the urge to throw himself at the golden stallion who stood by Xina's side.

“I can't stay, brother. I - I have to go,” the Lagoon's leader spoke more softly, turning to face the younger stallion again. After a moment of hesitation, he brushed his muzzle across Conquistador's cheek in a farewell caress, feeling the dampness of the tears that had soaked into his brother's pale golden skin. Then, closing his eyes against the threat of his own impending tears, Rade turned to go.


stallion // mongrel // 15.1hh // 8 // palomino roan // reba
debonaire x neassa