Solomon

It seemed as though each time that he opened his mouth, he only shoved his hoof further into it. Again, she bristles at his offer and he sighs in frustration, his ears tipping back as he studied the pony mare. He had hoped in that asking her to convey his message as a welcome, rather than as any sort of demand for the chestnut mare, he would be assuring Valka that his intentions were not as dishonorable as she believed. Instead, it had seemed to have the opposite effect. As she bit back at him with clipped tones he began to wonder if she would ever warm to him, or if she was determined to hate him until the end of time.

The long silence stretches before them awkwardly as she words her response to him, and he regards her calmly. It did not surprise him that she had never wanted a child before, given the way they had come together like two fumbling teenagers overwhelmed by hormones. He is surprised to hear her speak of their child as a son, and he cannot help but to wonder what a boy would be like between the two of them.

Solomon had not truly realized how different his upbringing was until he had come to these isles and seen with his own eyes that the majority of the populace had been raised by mundane herds with no greater aspirations than to live day to day. It seemed as though Valka had her own unique story to tell, and he found his curiosity burning at the few words that she offered. He couldn't imagine a society based around warrior-women for the very situation that she described. Women were vulnerable. Even the strongest among them could be bridled and brought to heel by an opportunistic stallion if he was determined enough; and once pregnant, her ability to protect herself would be curtailed for a large portion of the year.

Even if she did not want the foal and possessed no innate desire to protect the child in her womb, her movements would be slow and sluggish. Even the best warrioress would be hindered by a pregnancy, and easier to pick off by someone wanting to take from her. And the damage brought on by such an act could have even further-reaching consequences than just that of a child.

His thoughts drifted over Sabriel's face as they parted, the recrimination and sorrow that he had seen there had grown with each passing time he remembered it. At first, he had only assumed that she felt guilty for giving in, and perhaps anger for his lack of gentleness in the act itself, but as time separated him from the act itself, clarity had begun to point out the other clues that he had missed and seed doubt into his certainty. He wanted to see her again for many reasons. Concern for her well being and that of their child, if there was one was high on the list, but he also wished to speak to her again, if only to ascertain whether his guilt was warranted or not.

Valka is quick to distract him again, and he waits with baited breath to hear her answer to his question. He knows that she had every right to bar him from the child, but the prospect of such a thing is unbearable to him.

The pony mare stays true to her tendency of irritating him, and the only word she offers in response is a short no. His jaw clenches in anger and he cuts his gaze away from her to glare at the forested border between their homelands, attempting to temper his response before he says something that he will regret. Even this response, he is sure, will only make her more certain of keeping him away but he cannot help but fume at her casual denial. She did not even want the child, considering she had just finished saying as much only moments ago. Clearly she was only doing this to jab at him.

Annoyingly, it was working.

He wants to lash out at her, to swear that he will take the child from her if she will not share him, but he tempers that response with a slow, measured sigh. When he is certain that he can control the tone of his voice again, he turns back to the small pony mare, his jaw still tight with the control he keeps over himself.

"Why?" He delivers the question in the same clipped, emotionless tone that she had baited him with, but it cracks as he continues. "A child deserves to know both of it's parents."

He does not continue on making his case. He could point out that it was not him that had continually drive matters between them into hostile territory over and over again. He could also argue that if it was indeed a colt like she thought, she was no more equipped to help him navigate stallion-hood than he would be at helping a filly become a mare. To do so would feel too much like grovelling, and he will not give her the satisfaction. It is enough that she has already taken from his herd for no reason. Enough that he has sacrificed his own time to check her borders while she carries his child. Enough that he has avoided pointing out to Warsaw how vulnerable she was while the stallion and his children fretted in the Cove. He has already protected her, and it infuriates him that she still sees him as a villain worth cutting off from their child.

Dutch Harness Horse Mutt | Champagne Grullo Tobiano Stallion | 17 Hands | The Cove