Suleiman hated to see her in pain, and hated it more to know that he was contributing to it with his choice of words. To his surprise, she doesn't pull away from him as he elaborates further, trying to explain a concept that he only had a clumsy grasp of. All that he knew was that Mariael loved her family, and that he couldn't imagine her family not loving her in return.
At his offer of a trip to the Bay, she seemed to refocus on him and he listened quietly to her answer. He didn't personally have much hope in enticing Fell to allow Maizel to leave, but he shoved this thought down for now. In truth, he had never really spoken to the Bay's newest lead apart from the strange and brief period in which they'd fought wolves together. Everything he'd ever learned about the hook-eared stallion had been secondhand or through observation at a distance.
"Let's see what we can find out then," he murmured with more confidence than he felt. One way or another, they would see what they could do for Mariael's beloved sister.
They had separated - against his better judgment - to search for Fell along the borders of their land. Suleiman hated letting Mariael out of his sight after everything had just happened with her family, especially after they'd just been speaking about the possibility of Maizel being held against her will, but Mariael had been firm.
And he'd trusted her capability.
Still, nothing had prepared him for finding the two of them sparring. His temper had flared and he had nearly rushed in to defend her, but something on her face stopped him. A determination almost, thatspoke to her need to spar with Fell. It stilled his hooves, or at least, prevented them from carrying him to interrupt their fight. Instead, he paced restlessly at a distance that was clearly out of combat so as not to intercede and waited to see the outcome while trying very hard not to read too much into the way that Fell's lips and teeth and hooves all touched Mariael's body in ways that were both unfriendly and far too intimate.
When it was done, he moved stiffly to join her, but said nothing. It was evident to him that Mariael had this under control, and he was just a bystander there for backup should anything go awry. He felt her pale coat shiver, and shifted to provide the bulwark of his shoulder against her hip for reassurance. It would be okay, he counseled himself. One way or another.
Stallion . Young Adult . 17hh . Pinto . arch lead. solomon x banshee . love