As a Strážce, Kune had been trained to obey first and ask questions later. Over and over it had been drummed into him that he was not a stallion: he was a tool, whose duties were to guard the herd and maintain the peace. Yet there were circumstances, rare circumstances, where Strážci might need to disobey orders or otherwise act in a manner unbefitting to them - or to stallions in general - in order to ensure another’s safety or resolve two conflicting duties. Kune had only ever had to act in this manner once before he’d come to the islands, and that had ended in disaster.

Now he found himself doing it again.

Yet before Božena could relay his words, the stallion cut in. Kune listened intently, though he understood very little, and stiffened when the stallion took several steps closer to Božena. Kune flattened his ears and took a step forward of his own, jutting his bulk between the two, and glared down at the stallion with a silent warning in his dark eyes. Thankfully the stallion came no closer, though he briefly shifted his attention to Drika. Drika! In the heat of the moment, Kune had forgotten about the young Peak mare. He twisted his head to glance at her just as she delivered a retort that contained Merete’s name. It was about time she spoke up, he mused.

When he twisted his head back to regard Cullen, he caught a glimpse of Božena out of the corner of his eye, and saw the barely-restrained fury written in every line of her body. Whatever the other stallion had said, it must have been deplorable. Kune looked back and forth between mare and stallion, waiting anxiously for an explanation. When it came, Kune stared at Božena for several moments, hardly believing what he was hearing. Then cold rage swept over him, and he snapped his gaze back to the Lagoon stallion, eyes smoldering in a face that could have been carved of stone. How dare he? How dare he suggest such defilement, such dishonor?

He had no doubt how Božena would respond, and he was proven right. Her words were sharp as knives, her meaning clear as day as she gave the stallion his answer. Kune felt his heart swelling with righteous pride as he stood beside her, and once she had finished, he spoke to her in a low, terse voice. “Božena, řekni slovo a já ho uhodím. Nedovolím mu, aby vás takhle zneuctil.”

(Translation: Božena, say the word and I will strike him down. I will not allow him to dishonor you - us - like this.)