His idea had been a good one, still was in fact. There was one small problem though, one he’d semi-forgotten about until the first of the lagoon colts made his way over. That problem was, he didn’t much like children, hell, he didn’t much like anyone let alone children. At first the boy just stands there by the trees, watching. Ceolwulf feels like going over there and dragging it by the neck but instead, he doesn’t let on he’s noticed and merely watched the trees for the rest of them.

Eventually, and at a far less than prompt pace, the golden boy made his way over. The black stallion swung his head to get a better look at the dunalino colt. He spoke with an accent, about the only thing that was interesting. Ceolwulf’s tail cracked over his dark hocks as a red roan colt who had trotted up as the young stallion gave his name butted in. From the exuberant greeting the colt gave, Ceolwulf could already feel the annoyance and frustration of having to deal with these children begin bubble. A single black ear twitched at the colt’s name though. He had heard of Léon, the son of Rade and his companion.

Soon after, a dark colt entered the group silently with a fire in his single eye. He could be the one to watch, Ceolwulf thought, as a pale yearling made his way in just behind. His right eye stared uselessly into the distance and Ceolwulf found it odd that the final two colts to show up would have compromised eyesight. They’d have to give a little extra to win any battle they were in.

The pale one, just like the dark one, said nothing but unlike the dark, gave off a nervous, unsure energy. He would probably fail miserably unless the adrenaline had an overly positive effect. Ceolwulf snorted gruffly, gaining their attention. “Today you are going to learn how to fight for the brotherhood.” he informed them, “You three, size up your opponents.” he told the dunalino, bay and sabino. “Léon, I have other plans for you.” he told the roan, taking him aside.

He looked the colt over for a moment, judging the boy’s worth “As the only colt who has taken up with the thieves I need you to undertake a small task. Go to one of the islands, find a mare and bring her back to us.” He might not be successful first time but he needed to start practicing if he wished to be a thief. “If you’re successful, you’ll have first dibs come fall.” He wasn’t sure if the boy knew what that meant but he would soon find out.

“Now, I hope you got a good look at the others because you’re still going to fight.” Moving with Léon back to the other three, he fixed them all with a smirk and a hard stare. “Alright.” he said, gaining their attention once more. “Now you’ve got an idea of your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses it’s time to fight. Battles are rarely fair so we’re not going to bother pairing you off. If you want to team up or work alone that’s up to you, just try not to kill each other.” It would do them good to experience fighting multiple opponent rather than just a single one. “Begin.”