Ashamin did not expect the terse denial, but when it arrived he also didn't feel particularly surprised. He snorted lightly, not in disapproval so much as acknowledgement. Seanan did not seem eager to discuss the topic further, given his lack of explanation, so the Clovenheart chose to let it rest with nothing more than a shrug. He considered commenting on Seanan's honesty, but the painted buck doubted the stallion was fishing for, or would perhaps even pleasantly receive, compliments.

He chose instead to watch his companions bobbing through the wood and listen to the stallion tell his tale, even if it was brief. Ashamin had guessed as much that Seanan was new; when he admitted his unfamiliarity with the weather, his violent outburst before made a bit more sense.

"I grew up in dense woods, but the weather was too cold to see much rain; what fell came down as snow," the buck mused of his lost home. He'd never been part of a herd, so the solitude that had haunted him may have escaped Seanan, but neither of them were acclimated to the rain. Even though Ashamin had lived in Helovia for some time now he had spent his time in the Basin, where the cold was familiar and the rain just as scare. Here, though...

Ashamin's long tail dragged, leaving a thin trail in the mud and staining it. Lochan had paused for a moment to choose a path, but moved forward again with renewed confidence. Ashamin followed but he too, paused, when Seanan spoke his name.

The Clovenheart had not realized what his comment might sound like to another, and reconsidered it now that he was faced with it again. How did he think of herds? Certainly not so negatively, but then again... well, he had been raised a wanderer. To return to those roots and leave the Basin behind felt undeniably right.

His dark gaze turned to seek out Seanan's, and he smiled softly as if he had lost something in the process of gaining something else. "Herds are good, for some. I spent much of my time in Helovia as a part of one, thinking that was enough." He sighed, looking back at his companions, his eyes travelling across their wet backs and watching as the rain sluiced through their fur. "I found I needed more, even if it meant holding my own out here. Funny enough, though, I've found the wilds aren't as lonely as they are made out to be; I've met a few others that value freedom and knowledge as much as I do, formed a collective of sorts."

Another pause, a few steps forward as Lochan took a sharp turn to guide them all beneath a denser canopy and drier place. The Clovenheart was glad to be freed of some of the wet when he looked again at Seanan. "I think herds have value. I think life as an outcast, forming your own network, has the opportunity for even more," he said with a fixed glance on the other stag. Once again he held his tongue, holding back further comment or an offer before Seanan could have a chance to reply to this.

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ASHAMIN

The Clovenheart