I slink to his side, though I struggle to keep the smug look from permeating my features. I had been right and this stallion a fool, but I had already written off the weaker of the two sexes years ago as being as competant. Instead, I focused mainly on the heart with which Leander poured himself into this herd. While the boy was not a keen on the ways of the world yet, he had the passion needed to uphold this herd in the absence of wisdom. It was this passion which pushed the grin from my face and back into a a sheet of stone, peering out with dark eyes that were a bit insulted he felt the need to tell me anything about the movements of our herd members.

I may not care for things outside my borders, but I sure as hell knew what my family was doing.

"Those who hold no respect for the rules of their leaders do not respect the leaders themselves," I say flatly, looking at the golden stallion as if he was a pupil needing to be taught. His ignorance in congratulating the snake had taught me that while the stallion loved the desert home deeply, he did not understand the hearts of others. I had never intended to be leader, but perhaps I was more suited than I had originally thought. "That is why I urged you not to congratulate those who flatly break them. It is like you are thanking them for disregarding your authority." I drop my gaze to his hooves momentarily as I step out from his side, closer toward the edge of the water. "My temper is thin, but even that fire does not cloud my judgment. I would urge you not to refute my warnings in front of foreign company again." It was hard to admit the faults of your own making, but there was no denying my head was fiery. The fact that others seemed to write me off as foolish because I spoke my mind is was irked me. Just like Leander had chided my words, like I knew nothing, like I was a child, like I had not been leader long before he - it was all weighing on my chest and pushing me uncomfortably. The wind, sensing my discomfort, tugs at my mane in a sorrowful sort of comfort. "It makes us look all the more weak."

While Bazilisk and Leander may blame my words for the treachery of the damned snake, they had only acted in the interests of security. Now, looking back at the wake of the Artisan's absence, I am certain more than ever that I was right to have spoken against his condescension. Think me a fool if you so wish, but in the end, I will be the one who is right.

The next set of words actually meant something to me, and I turn my head to look back up at his face as he speaks. "Why are you wasting your time on the Foothills?" I ask keenly, my eyes sharpening. "Our ties are with the Qian, and no one else; we should not expend our own strength rescuing those we have no relation with. As for Mirage, I plan to seek her rescue personally." I could almost hiss at him, seeking out relations with those who are of no interest to the herd. A waste of energy to us, likely to turn sour. Had I not needed Mirage's aid at the time of our own invasion, we likely would not even have ties with the World's Edge. We would be as isolated as possible, without need of politics. "Leander, I can only ask you as an equal, but I ask that you not extend olive branches to every enemy of the Plague. The less we involve ourselves with their plights, the less we are likely to be targeted by such a group."

"The only absolute way to avoid warfare with the Plague would be to strike an alliance with them directly, and since that is not going to happen, you should not meddle." I look at him sternly. I cared not for this new herdland, only that it made it less likely that we would have to fight to defend our land. I cared not for this new God he spoke of, nor did I care about the Grey. "We can maintain friendly ties without making promises." We are in no position to aid others when we can hardly keep our own members at home.
""