With the arrival of the pale mare and her lover, things had become tense. It was not so much spoken, as felt. Cain, reduced to the position of a secondary stallion, chafed at being below the young girl. In truth, so did Scarecrow. He did not resent her for her ambition, but she seemed oblivious to the disruption she had caused. It all seemed like a game to her, like playing house, and he grew increasingly frustrated as she continued to gamble with their safety.

If it was just him, Scarecrow would not have minded. But he had Libra, and Scorpio, and Aries, and even young Balavant to consider. Their safety mattered more to him than just about anything in the world, but there was precious little he could do without causing more problems for everyone. If he tried to take the land, he could be injured and Libra would then have no one to turn to with their family. He could try to move them, but to where? Scarecrow had not been born on these islands, and had no familial ties. Hell, the only other creature he'd met before coming here had been Neon, and it wasn't as though he could show up in her land unannounced with his whole family in tow.

The only other option was Maslakhat, but even the thought of abandoning the Desert herd, broken as it was, filled him with a sick sort of dread. He understood that Libra did not care for the tobiano stallion, and had no great love of him, but staying as Cain's second was the best that Scarecrow could do to establish a life for her. He wasn't sure if he could manage an entire land by himself. Not as he once had.

Eagerly, the lean stallion climbed the last small hill between himself and his family, content in his latest run of the Desert borders that no ill was headed in this direction. He noticed immediately that his beautiful lover was not where he had left her, and anxiously scanned the area until he spotted her and the golden foal that stood at her side.

A grin spread across his lips as he trotted toward them, eager to make the acquaintance of their newest child. His life had changed so dramatically when Libra had joined him that he still felt a little bit off-kilter. He had spent so much time being alone after what had happened with his daughters that he couldn't imagine being with someone again, but Libra had changed all of that. Her brightness never failed to bring him up and restore balance to his day, but he would never shy away from admitting that having children again scared him.

He didn't want to fail them as he had his first girls.

Still, there is no dimming the joy that glows from him as he slows to a stop near Libra and the newborn colt. "He is handsome Libra, you did so well." His grin spreads even further as he watches the newborn nurse, studiously oblivious to the arrival of his sire. "What have you named him, my love?"