Kheldar stirs from a restless sleep, skin twitching and heart picking up its pace within his stocky chest as the sounds of the confrontation nearby seep into his unconscious mind, warping the happy memories his has of the stone kingdom to which he was born into an imagined likeness of the bloodbath that must have followed in the days and weeks after Rosto spirited him away from there to save his life.
The ebony stallion, since being told the truth - or some of it, for he well knew Rosto kept many things closely guarded, not for his own sake, but for Kheldar’s himself - had been slow to come to terms with things, that this was their life now, and there was no quest, no glory, no throne waiting for him back home. There were only ghosts, who would haunt him until the end of his days, if he set hoof upon the rock.
And those days would be numbered, for he was a crownless prince in exile, and his reappearance would be viewed as destabilizing to the newly established order. There were many, Rosto had warned him, with a tender touch upon his cheek that Kheldar hadn’t drawn back from, that would seek his life still, for no other reason than the fact that his father had been a loathed ruler, as had his father before him.
It mattered little that the cycle had broken with Kheldar.
‘Don’t worry yourself about them, prince.’
Kheldar flicked an ear and relaxed his stance, eyes slipping closed. He said nothing, though, and did not stir again as Rosto moved off from him. Once upon a time, Kheldar would have hastened to catch up to his companion and jostled at his shoulder to gain ground and pul a stride - a half stride - ahead. But now…
It was only after silence had blanketed him that Kheldar shivered at the stillness, and felt a greater ache than grief throb in the hollow of his chest. A moment later, he splashed through the shallow lagoon waters following after Rosto. It wasn’t that his feelings toward his captain had changed - truly he believed nothing would be capable of that, now - it was just taking him time to adjust to his new reality. One in which my prince and my captain held no weight.
No weight at all, except to one another.
Because Kheldar had no desire to ever part from the dark-spined stallion, and made it known as he approached the gathered crowd, reaching out to brush his muzzle over the slope of Rosto’s shoulder, before drawing up beside him. His dark eyes settled on the red spotted mare, after sweeping over the rest. "The one you came in pursuit of is firmly within the bounds of the Lagoon, now, and who is to know whether he will remain."
Kheldar paused, but only momentarily, aware of the tension that hung in the air as palpable, almost as fog, though it remained invisible to the eye, except for where some among the bachelors’ number were posturing and hungering for an excuse to turn this charged meeting into something more physical. "If you had prevailed here, my companion’s offer would have been a less treacherous path to take, rather than reclaiming the quarry you pursued, if your proposal for a trade had been found wanting… But I cannot fault you for declining, for you haven’t had the chance to take full measure of him."
There was a subtle shift in his voice then, that only one who knew him as Rosto did would pick up on. He did not address Rosto directly, but there was something charged hidden in the brief glance they shared with the subtlest angling of Kheldar’s muzzle. "And if not anyone else here, I would have done anything to see him released."
Oh captain, my captain.
"As it stands, however, what you propose is unbalanced. Your captive is as good as freed, and yet you ask for two in exchange. Bring us two more, and perhaps…” The black andalusian shifted his weight on the boggy ground, his tone light as he sought to navigate this situation with at least some of the poise that Rosto had displayed as he’d approached, for there was movement at the periphery of those gathered. The green-eyed boy he’d seen skulking about, the color of his coat indistinguishable from the swamp muck that often covered much of his skin,muddling his scent, had been drawn out by the gaggle of voices.
Kheldar did not wish to see violence break out, for fear of the colt getting swept up in the fray and coming to harm.
He shifted his leading hoof, then, moving it in a particular way that would mean nothing to anyone who noticed the movement, but to Rosto, it would be an unspoken signal, alerting his captain to the boy’s general location, if the white stallion beside him had not already picked up on the colt’s presence. He resumed addressing the mare, but his gaze drifted over the other stallions gathered, looking for reactions to his words that might tell him much. The mare seemed to have directed her words toward the Boss, but Kheldar had learned long ago never to assume.
“Perhaps those who have claim on the two you seek might be willing to let them go, if they find what you offer - brothers to bolster our number - more enticing than those they’ve claimed for themselves." It would be preferable in his eyes, if it meant seeing two mares who might not want to be here go free, but Kheldar, having spent much time on the fringes as he’d come to terms with the loss of near everything he’d once known, would tread lightly.
"If that is the course that is chosen for us, I would offer myself, or…" The andalusian flicked his dark gaze toward his companion, but did not speak for him further. They were equals, now, not just in their own eyes, their own hearts, but in sight of everyone. Kheldar had no inheritance, no might of a kingdom. But he had Rosto, still, and that was all he truly needed. "as a go between. If that is what the Lagoon wills. I would follow you back to your mountain, and remain free, ensuring that you are not hampered by other threats while making good on your word."
The offer laid out plainly, for all to hear and contemplate, Kheldar lapsed into a calm silence then, looking to take his lead from the large bay stallion he knew by name only, Garmr, but respected (to a point) nonetheless, because of the title he’d claimed for himself, to serve as the dominant voice of the Lagoon.
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