What, exactly, was one supposed to do when confronted with their spawn? There were no oohs or ahhs. No cheering. No cooing. It was good to see the boy so that I would recognize him around, but I held no desire to touch him or introduce myself. He existed as a by-product of what I'd wanted with Vogue. I didn't begrudge him such an existence, but children had never really been the motivator behind my promiscuity. What was, oddly, more important to me, however, was the fact that Vogue wanted me to see him.

And so I looked.

"He looks healthy," I comment as she releases the leaves to shift back closed, once more concealing the boy from sight. A dedicated predator could still find him through scent most likely, but he was safe enough from most things. I shifted back, suddenly feeling awkward, which wasn't a feeling I dealt with often. It made my skin bristle and it took most of my self-control to not flee the strange intimacy of the moment, though I could not hide the way my skin shivered with the imagined touch of an insect. "So do you."

I remembered the deal she'd asked for when I'd managed to convince her to the Lagoon, using both brawn and promises that - at the time - I hadn't really meant to fulfill. And while I hadn't really thrown my heart into accomplishing those for her, I hadn't forgotten about them either. In all of the times I'd crossed onto Peak soil, I had not yet spotted a single individual that looked remotely like Vogue. Granted, I was often distracted by one thing or another, that thing often being feisty, grey, and with a penchant for violence, but I'd still tried.

It wasn't like me to bring it up though, and so instead I turned toward her, consideringly and then nodded toward the water. "Go get your drink then. I'll watch the kid." A test of trust, as it were. She allowed me near, but would she allow me alone?

Stallion - Young Adult - 15.2 - Brown Overo