The tension between them is palpable, and the little red mare remains perpetually on edge, constantly assuming an attack will come at any moment. He has shown her that she means nothing to him, and by extension, neither do her desires. Even this little... interlude, could be nothing more than a pretense, as far as she was concerned. A game to him, that only he knew the real rules to.

He spoke of his parents, and let slip that he had never seen them together. Isla hadn't seen hers together, either, but then again, Grier and Liland hadn't exactly been a love match. From the way her mother spoke of the whole scenario, Isla's existence had purely been because Grier wanted a child to dote upon, rather than because of a connection between her parents. Either way, it didn't matter. Liland lost them before Isla was even born, and had not once bothered to try and ever retrieve them. These days, she assumed he died somewhere, and left it at that.

But she had had her mother. And while Grier had hardly been a perfect mother, she had been a damn good one, and would not have tolerated the sort of nonsense that Warwick seemed to utilize. Her thick tail flicked again, but she did not pass comment on his being raised alone. There could be circumstances she did not know of, and truthfully, did not want to know of.

"Well," she hedged, realizing that the only example she really had of a 'good' couple had been her mother and Pidgeon, and it wasn't as though the two of them had ever once admitted their feelings to themselves, let alone each other. Even Zevulun and Grier together had been... stilted. Largely because of her own mother rather than because of the well-known romantic stallion's efforts, but it was still a poor example to pull from.

"A lass likes to know a lad is interested. Ask 'er questions about herself. And listen tae the answers. That's even more important than t'askin'." That, from her mother's tales, had been one of Grier's original gripes with Liland. And she, too, had experienced it. Too many - mares and stallions alike - preferred to hear themselves talk than to actually participate in a conversation. They came in with an idea or an answer prepared and did not really listen to what was being said.

"Dinna be mean t'her," Isla added, privately believing this should be a given but also acknowledging that the obvious might need to be said. "And if ye like sommat about her, tell her. Most - lads and lasses alike - like tae be given compliments. But dinna lie. Lyin'll ruin a relationship afore it's even got it's first legs under it."