Solomon

Utter confusion colors the petite mare's face as he questions her, and he cannot help but sweep his gaze over the rest of her body in search of some sort of wound or injury that might explain her memory loss. She seems whole and unharmed, but something is clearly wrong, and he notes the way she backs away from him as though he is a threat. Solomon remains still, not entirely convinced as to her display considering the circumstances of their meeting.

"From the ocean, most likely. I don't think there's any other way to get to these islands," he offers calmly, gesturing to the distant blue horizon. Concern clouds his brow as he continues to seem out of it, and he is halfway to asking her if she is alright when Cullen arrives.

It is strange to finally see someone you've heard so much about in person for the first time and he takes a slow measure of the stallion as he slides possessively close to the slender golden mare. It is a power move that Solomon recognizes, having used a similar one himself and he suppresses a smile on his lips. Seeing them side by side at first gives credence to his consideration that they are related, considering their similarly desert-influenced builds and golden colorations, but Mimosa quickly dashes that notion.

Solomon watches quietly as she skitters away from him, his eyes tracking her without moving his head. His gaze drifts back to Cullen with a knowing glitter in his eyes, certain that the young mare had absolutely no idea of what land she had just stumbled into or the mess she found herself in. Wordlessly he tilts his head fractionally in Cullen's direction, as though implying that something could be worked out here that would benefit both of them.

Cullen had a singular mare, who may or may not be able to produce sons for him, whereas Solomon had multiple sons, all in need of training that might yet benefit from some time spent in the Lagoon. This situation is almost a carbon copy of the one that he had faced down in the Dunes opposite Maslakhat, and he was hopeful that a similar solution could be worked out here. It was imperative that she trust him for such a thing to work as smoothly as he hoped, and so he curtails his pleasure at the situation and pastes solemnity on his face.

"Solomon, of the Cove." He answers calmly, his gaze flicking from the girl back to the stallion. "Cullen, I presume?"

His amber tail flicks idly over his hocks as the girl asks her question, still clearly disoriented with the entire situation. He wants to press himself against her, and utilize her confusion to his advantage, but his options are limited with Cullen here. By all accounts, her arrival on his soil makes her his property in a way, and yet Solomon is fairly certain that housing an unhappy mare is not a Lagoon boss's favorite pastime. Turning back to the mare he offers a faint smile.

"This is the Lagoon, home of the bachelors." He said slowly, hoping that her mind was not so addled as to miss the implications of being in such a land. Solomon had never lived in a bachelor herd himself, although he had run amok with his gang of brothers enough to know the kinds of things that were talked about and the acts that were done. It was not safe for a mare to live among bachelors unless she had someone to look out for her.

"And this," he says with a casual gesture, "is the leader of this particular plot of land. And the person I came to see, although," he says with a quirk of his brow. "it was for a different issue."

He turns back to Cullen, his gaze shrewd as he attempts to decipher if the golden stallion would play into this scheme or rebel against it entirely. "I had promised a son of mine to the Lagoon some time ago to a young stallion called Noctis," he begins, his gaze pointedly fixed on Cullen. He wasn't entirely sure that Cullen would have any idea of the deal, considering no one had come to collect on it, but he had no intention of pointing out that it had been in exchange for a prisoner. "He never came to collect, so I came to see the state of the herd myself. My sons are important to me, you know." His voice remains calm, but he lets his gaze drift slowly over the landscape.

"Seems emptier than I had imagined. My son might need to bring his brother for company." He returns his gaze to Cullen as he delivers the last bit, willing the stallion to follow the path upon which he walks. In truth, he hadn't been entirely certain that he would send either of his oldest sons here considering the mixed reviews. Noctis had likely forgotten the deal or not shared it, and so Solomon would have been content to pretend it had never existed... except now it could benefit him.

If he sent both of his sons here, they would be able to look out for each other while training to grow stronger. And when they were old enough, he could bring one of them home to hold a new plot of land so his herd and legacy could continue growing. He had always intended for one of his sons to stay here anyway, so this could be a way to enrich both himself and the Lagoon at the same time.

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