whatever you do; Posted on July 7, 2023 at 09:47:19 PM by rafe
make certain your hands are clean ; Rafe isn’t certain what to expect in the Dunes when he hunts down Jyestha’s elusive, odd little family. Other than the knowledge he will have to drop in and visit Nyimara on his way back (to do anything else would be rude, and he has enough enemies right now - he can’t afford one more at his door), Rafe has little in the way of a plan as to how he will go about this.
Jyestha said East, and so that is where Rafe had planned to start. Only he’s barely across the border, idly considering visiting Nyimara first and seeing how Autumn has been treating her when he’s approached. It’s by a stallion he does not recognize, and Rafe’s flickers his ears half back in annoyance, stopping where he is to watch the stranger draw closer.
He’d neglected to ask for a description of who exactly he was after, but Rafe doesn’t have to wonder long. The other stallion confirms his identity, and it is a bit of a relief that he hasn’t had to go traipsing about the sand all day trying to find a single equine in the vast expanses of Nyimara’s realm.
Antares’ words do irritate him a bit, and Rafe narrows his eyes at the comment. “Hard to consider it theft when she was so undervalued here. Liberation, perhaps, is a better term.” He isn’t actually here to pick a fight though. He isn’t opposed to respecting Jyestha’s traditions, and he fully intends to do as he promised. Secure agreement from her father (through bargaining or violence - Rafe is adaptable, but he isn’t terribly picky either as long as he gets his way) and give her whatever assurance she needs that he intends to keep her as a member of his herd.
“I come as a suitor,” he adds after a few moments of silence. “You’re Antares, then? I’m to tell you that the daughter of Indira has offered her favor.” The bride price - that is a rather important part as well. Although based on first instinct, Rafe isn’t quite as keen to discuss it. The demand in this stallions tone, when by Jyestha’s own account he never really cared for her, prioritizing a jealous lover and casting her aside for actions not her own. It doesn’t exactly scream of the sort of character Rafe wants allied with.
“I would pay the bride price you seek.” His eyes narrow at the other stallion and he murmurs, “Given your inability to place her yourself - an insult, Jyestha assures me - I can’t imagine you expect anything great.”
rafe | 15.2 hh bay overo brindle mutt | king in the badlands