OOC: Set the final day of his season-long "captivity" if the Lagoon lets him go.

A season was a very long time to be parted from his family, especially in the wake of Solomon's death. Initially, a part of Suleiman had relished in the relative anonymity of his presence here. Many of the stallions knew who he was or why he was here, but they either did not know or did not care of his connection to Solomon. No empty apologies or shared commiserations forced him to pretend to be dealing with his father's death in any kind of constructive manner. He was left alone (mostly) to wallow in his grief.

And had that been the end of it, had that been all that his visit here entailed (a solo journey of solitude and self-pity), Sul might have emerged from this trip relatively unscathed.

But it hadn't.

Morgana's face swam behind his eyes every time he closed them, his worry for the poor mare compounded by the fact that he did not know what had become of her in the days since she'd disappeared. Had she managed to escape? Had she been caught? Hurt? Stolen?

The what-ifs were enough to drive him mad, especially after his initial inability to protect her. He still knew little of the painted villain that had claimed her into the Lagoon after he'd foolishly drawn attention to the fact that she had been a visitor that night. Perhaps if he'd been able to lie or done a better job of subtly intervening he could have saved her from the fate he was terrified she had befallen. A fate that was, in no small way, partly his fault.

Dusk was slow to settle over the Crossing, painting the sky a vibrant pattern of purple and red, broken up only by the golden orange-red of the clouds that had been drifting by all day. Here, the weather was balmy still, warm and hot despite the lateness of the year. And yet he craved the bitter cold of his home, to wrap himself along Mariael's side and bury his face in Raksha's mane, and to lip at Silka's forelock in apology. He wanted to see his baby sisters and to wrap them up in his embrace, to assure himself that they were okay.

There was even a part of him that wanted to see Ivanbito. To make sure that this sacrifice had not been in vain.

But Suleiman would not break his word. The Lagoon had already proven willing to target his family for no reason other than because they could, and he had no desire to give them another reason. Let their boredom carry them toward other herds, other territories, other unfortunate souls so long as they left the Arch alone. Left Tinuvel alone, really, let them deal with the death of their king and patriarch. He knew that was too much to ask, though. If anything, even the voicing of such a request would only make the Lagoon's greedy gaze turn there more often, hunting for things to feed its voracious appetite.

The painted man sighed and shifted his weight again, flicking the strands of his pale tail across his hocks to ward away bugs while he waited out the rest of his self-imprisonment.

Stallion . Adult . 17hh . Pinto . arch lead. solomon x banshee . love