There are small things about the boy that strike chords of familiarity in her heart, although they are not strong enough for her to place who they remind her of. For Siobhan, whose nature was always to nurture without suspicion, such inklings of familiarity only implied to her that adopting this colt was the right thing to do. He already felt familiar to her - so obviously he was meant to join her family.

The red mare shifts closer as the boy burrows into her side, her muzzle dropping to run along the short strands of his mane in a comforting gesture. His coat was so cold against her skin, and the visceral feel of his icy, wet skin brought back memories of her first stay in the Inlet and she buried her muzzle against his forehead, blowing warm breath over the tips of his fuzzy little ears in an effort to steady both of them.

Siobhan tenses at Bjorn's approach, her amber gaze rising from the young colt to the stallion with wariness. She had never seen Bjorn harm a child, and would not expect him to in this case, but she knew all too well that he could wield his indifference just as icily as he could his anger. She well remembered the distance with which he had treated Belikov, in addition to the way he had left her to deal with Nyimara alone. Nothing in the grullo stallion's face reflects anything but the same concern that she felt for the boy, and so she favored him with a small, tight smile as she relaxed and focused back on the colt.

Against her, the unnamed colt cowered closer and she moved to reassure him with a gentle touch of her muzzle. "It's okay, he's here to help," she murmured gently, her ears tipping back as her worry skyrocketed. It was almost as if he had blocked her out entirely, and his small body tensed in panic beside her. She abandoned words, opting for a gentle shushing instead, but it had no effect. The colt whose name she had not even learned, reeled so far back from her that he collapsed to the ground and she watched in horror as his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Her muzzle immediately dropped to the boy's face, and she wafted a warm breath over his face in concern. "Oh, a leanbh." She murmured softly, her lips skimming across his body until she could ascertain that he was still breathing. Only then did she lift her gaze back to Bjorn with ears that tipped uncertainly back.

"I'm going to guess that you don't know him either?" It was less a question and more a statement of fact, as she had gathered as much from the way that he had approached. In this situation, however, she felt very off-kilter and wanted to verify as much of the situation as she could. "Maybe it would be better if you backed up a bit," she said hesitantly, acutely aware of the fact that she held no authority to boss the Inlet stallion around. Ducking her gaze away from her once-lover with a keening in her chest, she murmured softly. "Just until he settles."

Gently but insistently, Siobhan nudged the boy's cheek and murmured softly near his ear. "A stór, it is time to wake up now." A sad smile touched on her lips as she speculated what had caused the boy to react so violently to Bjorn's presence, and she moved subtly to stand between the two of them. She wasn't sure if the grullo had taken her subtle command to heart or not, but she wanted to block the boy's view of him anyway. "You're safe. I will protect you, little one."

"I promise."