Faolain could feel Iscariot’s care-free energy begin to fall as she continued her discussion with Shamwari, and though there was nothing she could do about it right now, the black mare wished she had had a better opportunity to greet him. She did not want this to be his first impression of their new home - but the importance of this discussion took priority, as much as she hated to stand there and pretend like she hadn’t noticed his cheerful demeanor take a nosedive. She briefly pressed her shoulder into his despite her better judgment, and tried to stay focused on Shamwari’s words of warning.

The more she learned about Rougaru, the more concerned she became for how to handle any type of relationship with him. Of course, she had never met him herself, and only had the word of one person to go off of; she trusted Shamwari, but perhaps it was better to find out for herself what Rougaru was really like. Was meeting with him even an option? It might have to be.

A figurehead. She turned to look at Iscariot and rolled the idea around in her head. It was clever, and for a few minutes she began to build a vague plan around the premise, but Shamwari seemed less impressed than she was. He was right to warn them against underestimating their neighbor, but Faolain did not necessarily think they had to fool Rougaru for the plan to work. Her mind wandered to Björn’s second, Ailill, who remained in the Ridge after his leader’s disappearance. He had stated his willingness to live under her and to protect his family; perhaps he would be willing to work with her, or at the very least give her additional information about Rougaru and how to handle him.

"This information is extremely valuable to me, and I thank you for it," she addressed Shamwari after her long moments of consideration and listening to him and Iscariot discuss. She then turned to her perlino companion. "We may not be able to fool him, but I think we can still use your idea. We just have to be careful about it," she said with a dry smile. "Maybe there’s another use for a figurehead if we explore our options." If Faolain was being honest with herself, she would rather not go the route of deception anyway, though this was politics, and politics were… complicated.

She turned to Shamwari again as the chestnut stallion shifted back toward the shore, seeming to ready himself to leave. "I hope to see you again soon," she said, dipping her head gratefully. "And I would like to see the Prairie, as well."

When she thought he was out of earshot, Faolain looked up at Iscariot once again. "I’m so glad you’re here," she said quietly. She was almost childishly giddy that he had arrived, a feeling that was wholly unfamiliar to her, and she had not wanted Shamwari to see.