I DON'T WORRY,
WORRYING DON'T AGREE
THINGS THAT BOTHER YOU, NEVER BOTHER ME!

Relief made Kestrel’s dark legs feel somewhat weak, yet he still remained firmly planted where he stood. Rilke’s kind words made him feel somewhat shy, not used to having his character complimented, much less by an older stallion. While Kestrel’s few memories of his father were good ones, Frey had his own life with n Crossing Isle far separated from them. It had been months since Kestrel had last seen his father. So, having an older stallion do so tickled at something in Kestrel’s mind he was far too young to understand. All he knew was it made him both want to blush and look away, but also lift his chin and proudly stick out his still-narrow, growing chest.

“Thank you,” he managed in a somewhat small voice, smiling, the edges of it shy as were his brown eyes that peered beneath his lashes at the large stallion.

“Yay!” Talya snorted and smiled at Rilke. “You’re going to like it here,” she informed him, “the Forest is my favorite place on the islands, and I’ve lived on a ton of them! C’mon, we’ll show you some of our favorite spots here!” The very moment the situation seemed settled, Talya was all too happy to glaze over the tense beginning and jump right into their happy new life. She wobbled a bit as she turned (she was quite heavy with foal) and flicked out her pale tail as she started to trot forward in the direction she’d like them to explore.

Kestrel turned to walk after his mother, then looked back to give an apologetic grin at Rilke. “You don’t have to come with us right away if you’re busy,” he offered. Kestrel didn’t know everything that leadership entailed, but he knew it was a large responsibility. As much as the yearling curiously wanted to spend more time with Rilke, he also still remained respectful enough not to assume the stallion had nothing else better to do.