His moral dilemma has not been helped by the events on the battlefield. On the one hand, he is loyal to Sikeax, and her dethroning has thrown into doubt everything about his place in the herd. He joined because of her; now she's gone, what reason does he have to stay? He should take his children and leave with her, start afresh in a herd that isn't blinded by prejudice and thinly-veiled racism.

And yet....Volterra places more stead than most upon one's ability on the battlefield. To flee from a challenge without good reason is a deplorable crime to him, and seeing Sikeax abandon her post like that has carved doubt into the very depths of his heart. He's always known her skills did not lie in fighting, but he'd hoped that her desire to keep her herd would override any fears or misgivings about the challenge. Fighting is instinctual, innate; in a way, it is simple. Probably why Volterra, simple man that he is, is so good at it. So for Sikeax to not even try is quite damning, especially whilst Volterra sweated blood and pain to fight in her name.

Then, there is the Aithniel factor. The woman has intrigued him since the moment they met, and he certainly feels an intimate connection with her given the fact that they created a life together. She is the daughter of a God, the patron God of this herd - there is a certain poetry in her ascension to the throne. And yet the stallion cannot help but feel guilt that wraps around his guts like a snake as he thinks of Sikeax. If he stays in the herd in her absence, is he betraying her? Should he take his leave now, return to the life of an outcast, or perhaps even join the Falls - the herd he'd hoped to take as his own?

It is a conundrum, but one for another day. The beast has a meeting to attend, and he arrives as promptly as he can given the other business he had to deal with first - that business being a certain Tae. His wounds ache and smart and each muscle thrums with spent energy, a sure sign of a long and enjoyable battle.

When he arrives at the meeting, the skull-marked filly is the first one he sees. After his initial anger had faded, he realised he truly didn't hold the fight against her. Her tactics had clearly been distraction-based, and they'd worked. Volterra sure as hell wouldn't have backed down against Aithniel - he'd have won, or damn near killed himself trying, emotions be damned. Alas, what's done is done. He cannot insert steel into Sikeax's veins any more than he can insert the will to heal into his own. He simply isn't built that way; perhaps it was wrong of him to think that she can just change her talents at the drop of a hat.

He's dragonless as he moves into the crowd - they're eating their fill of the Throat's wildlife after their exertions during the battle. His crimson gaze lingers on Tae as she announces her desire to join the ranks of the healers, and one scarred eyebrow lifts quizzically. It seems like a dreadful waste of natural talent for the battlefield, and he wonders at her decision. He pulls up close to her, not missing the wolfish wink she sends in his direction and returning it with a somewhat amused twitch of his lips. "You fight well," he growls approvingly at the filly, his words aimed for her and her alone. "I am sure the warrior ranks will be glad to have you back should you ever change your mind." He cannot say this with certainty, of course, because he may not be the leader of said warrior ranks should Tae ever alter her decision.

Then he looks up at Aithniel, and his white-painted face remains veiled. He does not pledge his loyalty, does not offer up empty promises of grandeur to the hybrid queen; he does not dip to his knees and drop his sword at her feet in fealty. Truthfully, he doesn't know whether he will still be here tomorrow or whether the call of freedom will have dragged him from the chains of herd life, but a lot will depend on how the Inquisitor addresses her herd. She cannot be much older than him - how will she handle the weight of leadership on her shoulders? The way she conducts this meeting will go a long way to determining Volterra's decision...and whether he will betray his friend to serve a herd who hate him.