Though Zevulun had a sneaking suspicion there were stories Daire was keeping to herself, the pale stallion never once pressed the topics or cleverly worded anything he said in an attempt to force her to open up. His patience had been learned in time and taught to him when he was young by mares much more patient and mature than he’d been, and thus far it had served him well. Zevulun enjoyed traveling with Daire and Lir, leading them safely up the shoreline of Crossing Isle and eventually across the channel to Luthien. He felt far more confident the moment their hooves touched Luthien soil and drew ever closer to the Prairie.

When they crossed over the border into his home he glanced around, but didn’t see much of the herd nearby. Zevulun wasn’t worried given the way the herd kept to small pockets of their own among the vast, rolling hills. In due time they would cross paths with someone. Zevulun was already considering Larka or perhaps even Grier to introduce Daire too, wondering if the mare could find more in common with them. Perhaps it would help her feel more relaxed to see the evidence, too, of how much he meant his word when he promised to only look after a mare but never forcefully bond her to his side.

“Thank you,” he replied after Daire complimented the Prairie, “I’ve lived here and led here for a little over four years.” Only four? Sometimes it felt like he’d lived multiple lifetimes in his time as Prairie lead alone. “When I first arrived there was another stallion leading here, but he allowed me to share the Prairie with him and we became fast friends.” Time had made it easier to speak of Balor, but Zevulun could still feel the ache of sorrows he felt when considering his late friend. For a moment his gaze became somewhat far off before he sighed and explained, “He passed a year after I arrived and the Prairie has been left to my lead ever since.” In time he imagined he might name his maturing sons as second and third, or even a trustworthy stallion who arrived looking for a home and didn’t wish to only be a guardian.

“I was never brought up to be a leader,” he explained, “So it’s taken some learning for me to understand the gravity of this role… but I like to think I’ve come into it rather well at the risk of sounding overly cocky.” He grinned at that and, unable to help himself, even winked.