He may not have seen them, but Aten knew that the small number of Taiga residents could feel it. There had been a shift in the wind, something... upsetting the balance. Even if they did not know he had been handled the mantle of leader yet, Lilitha's missing presence would quickly be noticed.
Aten had big hooves to fill, but he had enough confidence in himself to know when help was not needed. Such as in the case of the arrogant newcomer who had decided to make an appearance. The creature came strutting into the clearing with an air of narcicism about him. Aten could be getting the wrong impression, but the way he saw it, to him, it was simple. Aten was surprised that, unlike what he originally thought, this creature was not a rival stallion, but a wolf, a strong predator with razor-sharp fangs and talons.
Perhaps the younger couldn't tell from this distance, but Aten knew he outweighed this wolf by a good number of pounds, and was definitely taller than him too. Size-wise, Aten had nothing to be intimidated by. The same could not be said about fighting skill of course, if it came to that, but Aten was the patient type and knew how to play his cards.
The wolf didn't smell of Taiga's land, nor any that overwhelmed the scent of a nomadic lifestyle on his body. Perhaps he was claiming residence elsewhere, or was still adapting. Either way, what concerned Aten was now this wolf had crossed Taiga's border without so much as a greeting. He wouldn't have cared so much if the wolf announced his presence when crossing.
Little did he know that the wolf was the cause of the howl he heard earlier, but it had also been close by. It hadn't come from the border.
The wolf went on to surprise Aten a bit by saying he was born here in Taiga, but already his words were wrong. Aten was emotionless, and did not reveal that he had been a resident of Taiga long before it's fall, and most definitely before this wolf had been born.
The wolf went on to make an... interesting offer, but the golden stallion knew there was a catch. Sure enough, it was said, and immediately Aten's senses were offset. His posture tensed in just the slightest manner, but from this distance, the wolf would not be able to see it. The golden stallion would not simply hand over a portion of the legacy Lilitha had left him to an arrogant creature just because he made an offer that he couldn't promise to keep.
The soft flapping of wings was heard, and Aten's eyes drifted skyward for a moment. A large bird of prey was seen circling above the predator and prey animals before it tucked it's wings and took a dive down toward them, opening it's large tools of flight to slow it's fall. Flapping it's wings rapidly to almost halt it's descent so it's talons wouldn't dig into the skin of it's target, the bird landed on Aten's back, making sure to keep it's grip light to avoid hurting the stallion. It's frame stretched slightly below Aten's head when it's back was straight and Aten's head up, showcasing just how large of an animal it really was.
Aten's eyes locked onto the large bird of prey, the intelligent animal doing the same. It's sharp, almost unnerving gaze might have intimidated those of a faint heart, but not the stallion. They seemed to be having a silent moment of understanding before Aten turned back toward their visitor.
"A bit presumptuous of you to think I would close off Taiga from the world, when it is part of Nerine as a growing land. It is a sanctuary for those who need a refuge, and while I will upkeep that in honor of Lilitha and Ruan, I also have plans to help it grow myself. But that plan does not account for handing over a portion of my leadership to a stallion who thinks it is polite to march into a land that is not his and make such an offer with what others might not percieve as an arrogant attitude.
"Your offer may be tempting to some, but I do believe we both have some growth to do before I will consider it further. You are welcome to stay, as you said, but I will not hand over a portion of leadership to you."
The golden stallion had nothing more to say. With Turul at his shoulders, Aten turned and left the scene, his ears listening for the wolf in case he decided to follow and show he wasn't done talking.
@[Crevan]
Aten had big hooves to fill, but he had enough confidence in himself to know when help was not needed. Such as in the case of the arrogant newcomer who had decided to make an appearance. The creature came strutting into the clearing with an air of narcicism about him. Aten could be getting the wrong impression, but the way he saw it, to him, it was simple. Aten was surprised that, unlike what he originally thought, this creature was not a rival stallion, but a wolf, a strong predator with razor-sharp fangs and talons.
Perhaps the younger couldn't tell from this distance, but Aten knew he outweighed this wolf by a good number of pounds, and was definitely taller than him too. Size-wise, Aten had nothing to be intimidated by. The same could not be said about fighting skill of course, if it came to that, but Aten was the patient type and knew how to play his cards.
The wolf didn't smell of Taiga's land, nor any that overwhelmed the scent of a nomadic lifestyle on his body. Perhaps he was claiming residence elsewhere, or was still adapting. Either way, what concerned Aten was now this wolf had crossed Taiga's border without so much as a greeting. He wouldn't have cared so much if the wolf announced his presence when crossing.
Little did he know that the wolf was the cause of the howl he heard earlier, but it had also been close by. It hadn't come from the border.
The wolf went on to surprise Aten a bit by saying he was born here in Taiga, but already his words were wrong. Aten was emotionless, and did not reveal that he had been a resident of Taiga long before it's fall, and most definitely before this wolf had been born.
The wolf went on to make an... interesting offer, but the golden stallion knew there was a catch. Sure enough, it was said, and immediately Aten's senses were offset. His posture tensed in just the slightest manner, but from this distance, the wolf would not be able to see it. The golden stallion would not simply hand over a portion of the legacy Lilitha had left him to an arrogant creature just because he made an offer that he couldn't promise to keep.
The soft flapping of wings was heard, and Aten's eyes drifted skyward for a moment. A large bird of prey was seen circling above the predator and prey animals before it tucked it's wings and took a dive down toward them, opening it's large tools of flight to slow it's fall. Flapping it's wings rapidly to almost halt it's descent so it's talons wouldn't dig into the skin of it's target, the bird landed on Aten's back, making sure to keep it's grip light to avoid hurting the stallion. It's frame stretched slightly below Aten's head when it's back was straight and Aten's head up, showcasing just how large of an animal it really was.
Aten's eyes locked onto the large bird of prey, the intelligent animal doing the same. It's sharp, almost unnerving gaze might have intimidated those of a faint heart, but not the stallion. They seemed to be having a silent moment of understanding before Aten turned back toward their visitor.
"A bit presumptuous of you to think I would close off Taiga from the world, when it is part of Nerine as a growing land. It is a sanctuary for those who need a refuge, and while I will upkeep that in honor of Lilitha and Ruan, I also have plans to help it grow myself. But that plan does not account for handing over a portion of my leadership to a stallion who thinks it is polite to march into a land that is not his and make such an offer with what others might not percieve as an arrogant attitude.
"Your offer may be tempting to some, but I do believe we both have some growth to do before I will consider it further. You are welcome to stay, as you said, but I will not hand over a portion of leadership to you."
The golden stallion had nothing more to say. With Turul at his shoulders, Aten turned and left the scene, his ears listening for the wolf in case he decided to follow and show he wasn't done talking.
@[Crevan]