The sudden movement of something off to his side had his muscles tensing and ears flattening as a reflex, muzzle already wrinkled in preparation of a snap of his teeth. Years of existence on the Crossing had taught him that most often, anything moving toward him at speed warranted a clear show of force lest it (whomever it was) got the wrong idea about his availability as a prize.
He pulled himself up short as his gaze landed on the young girl, her expression just as fierce as his own, though he did not unflatten his ears. There was something painfully familiar about her in a way that ripped at his heart, shredding talons down the poor, abused thing. He had no idea who this child was, but the look on her face was all Rhaenys. All determination and fire and stubbornness, a tiny Nyimara without the decades of trauma to back it up.
Rehoboam had struggled to keep his distance as he watched Nyi terroize the girl, forcing obedience into her wild heart, but he knew that she wouldn't hesitate to harm the girl further if he had tried to vouch for her. Nyimara would have considered it a grand old time to be able to teach her daughter a "valuable" lesson while wounding him even deeper. And so Reh had kept his distance, pretending not to care, swallowing down the pain and sneaking moments with her when he could until it became clear that she neither needed nor wanted him around. By then, he had managed to sneak away during one of Nyimara's absences and had gone to fetch his other children.
In her story, he was probably little more than the weird lurker that took an unusual amount of interest in her wellbeing.
He shook himself out of his stupor and frowned at the girl, surprised someone so young was being allowed to roam the Crossing freely.
"What do you mean?" He asked, purely to be stubborn, flicking the dark strands of his tail across his hocks.
"How is my face supposed to look?" He couldn't help the flicker of a smile that ghosted across his lips as he cocked a hip, his gaze resting on her face. He should shoo her back to her parents - wherever they were - but her attitude and color reminded him of Rhaenys so much that he wanted to stick around for a moment longer so that she could, undoubtedly, continue to scold him in her imperious little voice.