As the stallion who sired him had reigned as Lagoon boss; as the mare who pushed him into this world had once been called Peak General; as his late great-grandfather had once been the terror of the islands, leading from the helm of a strongly united Lagoon, one might think Peyote shared the ambitions of his bloodline.
However, he did not.
When he slunk after the black dotted stallion and the champagne dun mare he did not do so with some need for camaraderie or chance to prove he put himself forward into the fray for positive attention from his brothers. It was mostly curiosity that pulled the swamp beast out, and as his legs struck the saltwater, the layers of dark mud he often wore washed away.
Thus, it wasn’t the dark beast with blue eyes that climbed the desert shore, but a painted stallion with white across his face, a body of sleek brown-gray, soft creams, and ragged-edges patches of white. Even his mane, dark with sun bleached ends, was only clumped together by being wet, not tangled in thick dreads of muck. One might even say he was a rather handsome specimen, if they were inclined to appreciate such beauty.
When Peyote climbed ashore there was already a crowd surrounding his brethren and the escaped mare. His own black-lined ears tipped back and pinned down into his neck, eyes narrowing as he glared at the trio that had gathered to protect the Lagoon’s prize. She was a prize, even if she’d been dragged to the Lagoon by Vadim, who was no longer of their numbers. Already they’d had another trinket taken in an attempt to trade her back for this one. Peyote was uncertain what made one mare more special than the other and, if pressed, he didn’t truly care about the Lagoon property or where it went.
But he cared that his brother stood alone, faced against a horde of angry herd-creatures. He stomped a hoof in the sand and lashed his tail out behind him, clear that he was standing on Insegrim’s side, but also he would not escalate physicality unless his bachelor brother wished; they were still outnumbered, but there was always a chance another Lagoon bachelor had seen them slip after her and were on their way.
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