KENDRY
| The mare fires back a quick retort with a grin, drawing a wider smile from Kendry at both her recognition of him and the resurgence of her fiery energy, but the happy reunion is short-lived. Aallotar sobers almost immediately, though loses none of her punch as she disdains the Lagoon and earns a hushed admonishment from her partner. His blue eyes flit to the young stallion, noting the distrust smoldering in his gaze. Understandable, if both were considered captives, but the blanketed youth speaks —civilly, with a heavy accent— and clears the air in that regard. So. Fearghas is ranks among the bachelors, not their trinkets. They are close, too, as evidenced by the embrace he walked up on. Well can Kendry imagine how frustrating —and frightening— it must be to have someone he cares about living in a place with someone like Cullen apparently wielding the authority.
He flicks his tail, then looks at Aallotar. She'll find a way out of this place, with or without anyone's help, he's sure of it. She's too feisty to sit complacent in a place of discontent. "There are herds on the other islands that operate in a similar way, you know. Mares-as-property isn't unique to the Lagoon. Be wary of where you land when you launch yourself out of here." He thinks of the war he fought in (briefly, and on the fringes, for a cause he could barely claim to be a part of as he acted to serve himself) on the side that denounced both the bachelors and a band stallion who shared the mindset of mares as leading inferior, subservient lives. What a boring reality that would make. Kendry suppresses a groan just imagining it: Cullens and Varanduils running amok and lording themselves over others— he's over it. Over all of it. If he were of a similar age to the youth, maybe he'd stay and lead this mutiny alongside Fearghas and whoever else they could find, but it has been a hard winter, emotionally, for the perlino, and he finds himself still too close to her. He needs to get off the Crossing. Maybe with enough physical distance between himself and the Peak he can move past all that. He certainly can't do it here with memories clanging to life in his head whenever he's confronted by a bachelor (or two) who confirm the despicable reputation for which he himself has been shunned.
He drags his mind out of the muck. "You know," he says conversationally, tipping one ear back to listen for lurkers. He doesn't trust Cullen's lackey, at all, and wouldn't put it past the slithering git to have followed him here solely to eavesdrop. "Leadership of the Lagoon comes down to a vote. And, the ranks have been quite thin lately. Have you noticed there's barely half a dozen bachelors living here? If, say, Fearghas," he nods amiably at the other stallion, "you were to recruit some like-minded fellows, you could tip the scales in your favor. And make this a place where mares aren't afraid to frequent. Was a time when some of the fiercest females proudly called this land their home alongside my brothers, and it could be such a place again." He shrugs, then adds, "I'm just saying, you and every other bachelor here has the power to tell the Boss to get lost if you don't like the way things are being run."
He lifts his head, then, and looks briefly away from the pair, musing as if to himself, "Of course, just because one 'belongs' to the Lagoon doesn't mean they are physically stuck here. Perhaps this is a good time to go traveling. Get some fresh air, see the sights. Make some friends along the way."
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OF THE LAGOON |
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