Wilder</style>

He'd been gone far too long. That much was quite obvious to the stallion. Though not by choice, and now that the opportunity had presented itself, he was headed back home, to his mother and brothers. Thankfully he had wings- flying was a much more convenient way to travel. Shaking his delicate head, the crane wings brought him back home to the Foothills. Much to his disappointment, Mother hadn't been there; a few of his brothers were present, but aside from a quick nod of acknowledgement, he paid them no mind. They were, in the long run, unimportant. He only put up with them because Mother said too. Brothers looked out after one another; and Mother was always right. Logic would dictate that he simply wait- surely she'd be home soon. Then again, logic always got thrown out the window when it came to Mandrake. His mother. That title both filled him with a sense of purpose and wellbeing, while also being a knife driven into a bleeding wound. After all, while he did his best to suppress it, he held desires for the mare- desires and urges he hid as much as he could, knowing the damning consequences of such an attraction. Still though, every now and then they got the better of him. He was getting more control over himself though. Or at least, so he thought.

He should stay here. He should wait. But he’s not going to. Naturally. The ground was covered in mud, watered well by the melting snow, soft and sticky beneath his grey hooves. Black tipped wings outstretching, the stallion casted another glance backwards at the herd before taking off. Though Wilder was finding himself tiring of flight, if only for the moment as he’d spent so much time in the air as of late, it was the quickest way to find her. Earth, he only hoped that she would be alone- or at the very least with a son. That was preferable to the alternative; regardless of her intentions for them, Wilder would not be able to refrain from killing any strange stallion on the spot. Glancing down, he spotted Knox- curious, he hovered over the tree line for a moment. The wind shifted, threatening to rip Wilder straight from the sky and toss him right back into the ground, when he caught an all too familiar scent- While not entirely certain, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to assume Knox was meeting Mother in the woods? Or maybe something to do with the fact that his father was buried in those trees- but that was silliness. Why would he want to pay his old man any respects?

Lowering himself, Wilder touched down on the ground, taking a moment for his legs to adjust actually having to work. Tucking his wings in, Wilder quietly made his way after Knox and the shadowed mongrel at his feet. Neither seemed aware of the eldest’s presence, though that was fine with him- It was no trouble to keep his distance and still follow, having a path of newly disturbed flooring to lead him.

Low and behold, Knox led Wilder straight to a pile of bleached bones. Not entirely certain if he felt like making his presence known- after all, surely Mother would be interested in hearing about this- when his mother wasn’t even present, his choice was made for him when Mandrake stepped from the shadows. A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips before vanishing just as fast. Maybe he should have waited- after all, was an inevitable reprimand to his brother an adequate time to pop out of the wood work. But still, he couldn’t help himself. What devoted son hid from his mother?

Stepping into the light, he gave a quick nod to Knox.


"Mother."

Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.</style>