He was happy to follow alongside his Ma, to bask in the jubilant contentment her presence afforded him. He chattered happily as they walked through the sands, asking questions and listening in turn, an endless stream of conversation pouring from his lips. They were going to a herd meeting, he knew that, he just didn't particularly care. Matters of the herd were still too large and abstract for him to particularly mind; he considered himself too young to be affected by them, free from the burden of responsibility which his Ma carried so heavy on her midnight shoulders. He smiled at those he knew, like Mesec and Hertz and Aakesh and the warriors, but ultimately held close to his mother's side. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable, or afraid- he simply didn't care.

He lost himself in the caress of his mother's lips, coming back to the gathering only when she stiffened and pulled away. Sunbeam eyes turned up to her, following her gaze across the gathering to a familiar figure, the mare with the boat, but the source of Ampere's discomfort had been completely missed by the lightning boy. Zèklè huffed softly, pawing at a loose stone in the sand, drifting away from the gathering again and thinking of Isopia, and whales, until his Ma's name on Gaucho's lips made him look back at the towering Sultan, interest in his ears.

Pride filled the boy, followed by confusion. His Ma would be the Chancellor! He grinned at her, infectious, pleased- just wait until the other kids know! But his grin faded to an expression of upset concern. Did that mean Tandavi was gone? He had liked the Sultana, who'd looked after him when Ma was busy and taught him lots of history. And if she was gone, why was Meg the new Sultana? Zèklè had nothing against his mother's warrior, it just didn't make sense. Ma was the best fighter, and the bravest, and knew the most, and she should be leading, in her son's eyes.

He looked up at her again, but she did not seem upset. "Ma," he whispered beneath the chatter of voices congratulating the bay, "How come Gaucho didn' make you the new 'Tana?"

Politics would never make sense to the boy, and he though he wasn't blind to the tension between his parents, he was still too young to know what it meant, how love could tear people asunder and push them too close. All Zero knew was that the stallion had fallen further in his son's estimation, for this perceived slight to his Ma.