He follows his son whenever he finds the time in his busy schedule of fighting and fornicating. Why, he isn't fully sure. Perhaps it's because what happened with Isopia has reminded him that he must grasp responsibility around the midriff and pin it tight to his colossal frame; perhaps it's because he is older and more mature now, and realises that he must not simply flee from the consequences of his actions. Zhu is the future, the next generation of greatness - it is important that he be kept safe.

And Volterra only trusts himself with such a task.

His dragons seize this challenge with gusto; tracking the boy is a task they have both taken into their hearts. Not out of any particular affection for the product of their master's loins, but because the herculean stallion has given them a mission and they delight in accomplishing it. They even deign to work together, scanning the great Helovian lands as though they're searching for prey, darting between the trees and working in tandem. It is beautiful to witness, and is precisely what the goliath dreamed of when he obtained two companions.

It is Vadir who spies the boy first; she sends her bonded an image, accompanied by a proud blast of flames just because she can. The leviathan immediately alters his path to follow the instructions of the golden queen, muscles rippling beneath his obsidian hide as he prowls swiftly through the familiar forest territory. He soon spots the colt with his own eyes - Zhu is built strongly, not that any child of Volterra's loins could be anything else, regardless of the weakness of the dam. The creature nearby is surely the mother's strange shapeshifter, to whom his dragons give a cacophony of screeches.

But there is another boy, too; immediately Volterra's interest is piqued. Has his son found an ally? Friends made in childhood can become worthy allies in adulthood, so this bodes well. The stallion shifts, so he can see the other colt better...and his blood runs cold.

The face is skulled - only those of Volterra and Nymeria's lineage have that marking, and last time he saw his twin she was decidedly not pregnant. One leg bears a bone marking, and the body itself is grullo, darker at the limbs, with bright pink eyes.

Vérzés circles, lands on a nearby branch. "Another hatchling?" he questions, scrutinising the pair of boys with an impassive eye.

I don't know. I really don't know. That's all the brute can reply.

He tries to age the lad - no older than ten months, he'd guess. Who did he bed that would fit that timescale? Sikeax - although he's sure she'd have mentioned twins - Zandora, Colt...which of them have ripened with his seed, if any? Or is it pure coincidence?

Could this be the bastard child that soured Isopia against him?

The monolith shifts, breaking free from the shadows so he is visible to the boys for the first time. His feral crimson eyes scan first Zhu, then the strange colt...they hunt for resemblances, something that could identify them as brothers. "Zhu," he greets his firstborn (or so he thinks), his voice a gravelly growl, his size titanic in comparison to the innocent youngsters. He looks to the other colt, then, his face showing no emotion but his heart racing. "Who is your....friend?"