The stallion wasn’t quite used to handling mares who expressed their woes as vocally as this one. He didn’t think of it as fiery, rather, all he heard was a slightly irritating whine, a mare scorned and annoyed at not being paid what she believed were due respects for simply appearing at their borders. She was an assuming mare, he quietly decided, he could see that she wanted everyone to simply look at her and bow down – but realistically, what reason would drive anyone to do that? Azzuen had earned his title as General, just as Kri had earned her title as Leader, Onni as Healer, and his mate, Cassiopeia as Oracle. Even the young Ophelia earned her rank as Sleuth for the herd, and she was only just a yearling. What had this mare offered so far, besides flirting and a multitude of words and brash motions? The only thing she had offered to the herd so far was her presence, and while Azzuen didn’t discount that as nothing, he still believed that she hadn’t been as mistreated as she felt. She had been judged, swiftly and aptly, by their perceptive Leader.

He listens to what Onni has to say and agrees wholeheartedly, the daughter of the Leader confirming once again the opinion he himself had formed of their sometimes abrasive ruler. She acted in a manner that was honest to her character, she had no qualms with making her opinions known to the world, whether they be unpopular opinions or not; she stuck by them. Her resolve was admirable, and the stallion thought that might be what drew him to her, why he felt loyal to her – not just the fact that his brother had felt the same, which did play a large part in their friendship too. He was fairly similar in that he worked hard for what he believed in, and was loyal to those who shared the same beliefs, though he was definitely more mild mannered than the mare. Perhaps because his heart was now soaring with love for his mate, he saw the world through different eyes. Though past tragedies shaped his being into the over-protective guardian of the Throat, he behaved in such a way that he could only assume Kri liked, else she wouldn’t have appointed him her General.

“I act with nothing but honesty and integrity.” The stallion spoke with a wry smile and a shrug of his shoulders as he fell easily into the pace the mares set. “I have yearned for nothing more than a family to love and protect, and a herdland whose security I can insure on the beating of my wings for many years. Kri offered me a home, a cause, and I do everything I can to show my ongoing gratitude and worthiness.” He spoke simply yet poetically, his words rolling forth from his tongue with a rhythmic ease akin to that of a much wiser and learned beast. And yet, the simplicity of what he spoke about was also a token of the stallion – he wasn’t that complicated a stallion, but neither was he shallow and dim-witted. “I don’t claim to know anything more about our Leader than either of you two; I can only reflect on my own actions, and her subsequent reactions.” A humbled chuckle coloured his tones, truly, the stallion was like most men, knowing very little about the opposite sex but being very interested in them nonetheless.