[
@DragonSong claimed it Quick-quicklike.]
It was always an unfortunate situation, Hero thought, when one of them went feral. The beautiful scaled creatures could be the most intelligent of beings - but also the worst. He dug the heavy side of the blade through the flesh, the meat steaming with the body heat the creature had just been producing. Steaming from the blast of fire it was getting ready to expel out at him - which was good - that was always the best time to kill them. Another saw, one last gush of blood and the head rolled free, one of the horns catching on a small bush so it didn't keep going down the small incline.
"Gods, the inside of these smell like shit," He grumbled, going to the head to saw off the horns with his serrated dagger and once those were off he gave the head a boot and down it rolled, a dull thud as it rested against a rock. Back to the body and off with the gauntlets. Hero took what meat was useful and carved out the various interesting bits the feral dragons had that would be frowned upon to carve out of the more... Intelligent of the species. Then again, even if this one hadn't been feral, it tried to eat him which made it fare game.
Most of it was gross and by the end of his digging around in the dragon's cooling body, he had a sack of weird organs and some horns. The alchemist needed them, she'd said, don't go out and kill one, but if it happens would you be ever so kind as to grab me some of
this and one of
those? Hero frowned down at his hand and walked over to his horse, picking up his halberd on the way and frowning when it looked like the blade shifted.
Thing gave him the creeps but it cut through just about anything he'd tried it against. It was too valuable to just leave behind. Besides, he'd tried that once and he'd find it
everywhere until he started to actively use it again. Could have sworn he'd even seen it blink a time or two.
Hero nuzzled the horse's cheek after strapping the halberd to the saddle and led her away from the picked apart carcass, down past the head to a little creek, where he washed the foul smelling blood from his hands and did his best to wipe off any from his armour. He'd reek for days.
Great.
The horse, Sunshine, gave a restless shuffle away from the bushes and Hero looked over his shoulder curiously. Sunshine was a palomino mare from his mother's tribe - or at least his mother's tribes bloodline. Strong, fast horses, you were lucky if you could get a Duhjari mount. Though he supposed horses weren't exactly in high demand, now that Adela had recently discovered it's preferred mount of friendly dragons.
Old habit's died hard, it seemed. Hero stood up slowly, picking up a rock on his way and violently hurled it into the bushes that Sunshine was side-eyeing. He'd either had a follower or he'd gotten himself into a feral's nest.
Both were the worst of the situation because it was
never just a squirrel on the training grounds.
Aya wasn't supposed to be out. She wasn't supposed to be riding Darkmoon.
And she definitely wasn't supposed to be outside the city while riding Darkmoon.
But hey, what was life without a few rules broken?
At least, that was how she'd justified the little jaunt to herself when the draques had complained about not getting enough exercise. He needed to stretch his wings, and it just wasn't possible within the city limits. He'd pestered until she finally gave in; she knew the stables well enough to know how to sneak him out without anyone noticing, and then they were off.
She really hadn't meant to go so far. She most certainly hadn't meant for them to be out so late that they'd had to make camp for the night for fear of running into something on their way home in the dark. Probably something big and scaly.
"I am in so much trouble," Aya muttered as she rubbed Darkmoon's neck. The dragon-horse whickered at her, entirely unrepentant. This was the most fun he'd had since being purchased by his latest owner.
She frowned at him and hissed quietly, "You could at least pretend to be-"
Something cracked against the side of her head and pain exploded behind her eyes. With a sharp cry she went down on her knees, stars bursting in her vision as she tried to find her equilibrium. "What the hell?!"
Darkmoon screamed a challenge, rearing up and flaring draconic wings, trying to make himself look bigger.
The yelp caught him off guard and Hero rushed to the bushes - who else would actually yell? - but the screech sent a shiver up his spine and he stopped dead, golden eyes wide. The fuck was that?
"What the fuck?" Hero snapped, darting through the bushes and stopping dead at the sight of wings. Another fe--- No. "A horse?" He tilted his head, staring at the creature. That was his kinda horse. Beastly. Scary. A glance over his shoulder at Sunshine and he rose a hand to keep her from wandering over, concerned for her master.
Then he spotted it.
A young girl.
And the rock he'd thrown.
Ignoring the BeastHorse he quickly darted over to the girl, grabbed her by the shoulder and hauled her up. "What are you doing out here? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?" He swiped his hand over the wound the rock left on the girls head - he'd thrown it pretty hard and he hissed at the blood on his palm before he turned her head forcefully to look at it before letting go of her. "C'mon, I'm taking you home. Get onto my horse and give me the teather for yours," He frowned and held out his hand, "Now."
Hero was an attractive man, his palms calloused from hard work, his jaw was set and he frowned at her. Impatience and irritation was hot in his eyes and he rose an eyebrow slowly, wiggling his fingers.
Aya whimpered quietly, still rather dazed as she was hauled to her feet. She'd taken plenty of tumbles in her day, so head injuries weren't exactly new to her, but even so that one hurt. Reflex tears filled her eyes and she sniffled in an attempt to hold them back and appear less vulnerable to this...stranger.
Oh. She got a good look at him. This rather...rugged stranger. Easy, girl, he just hit you with a rock.
Right. She scowled and tried to jerk away from him, but that just made her sway dizzily. Darkmoon growled, fanning his wings and pawing at the ground. She managed to keep the draques from attacking with a hand in her direction, but she still snapped, "Why the hell should I do that?"
She moved to pull away again, but only succeeding in forcing her knees to buckle as another dizzy spell gripped her. Darkmoon snorted, anxious, and darted his head forward to press into her back and keep her upright.
Hero snarled right back at the horse. Thing.
"Why the hell should you do that?"
What.
He was taken aback, looking down at himself, dressed in the armor of the Adelan knights. The black metal. The red accents. Sure his helmet was down by his gauntlets but. He squeezed her arm and dragged her along slightly. "Because you're on private property and I could have you in shackles for tresspassing," He squeezed her arm again and angrily pulled her away from the horse and lifted her up.
One hand on her back, the other under her legs.
"C'mon, I'm taking you home and telling your parents exactly where I found you," He hissed, marching over to Sunshine and pushing the girl into the saddle before he gathered his gauntlets, put those on, and placed his helmet on again, pushing the visor up so she could see his face. Angry. This was utter bullshit. "Do you have any idea how much danger you're in being here?" He hissed again
Darkmoon was obviously furious at his girl being pulled away from him. He screeched another challenge and looked like he might charge the knight, but the sight of Sunshine brought him up short. He wouldn't hurt the mare, not unless she started something first.
Aya paled, still dizzy though now she was recovering, and struggled weakly. "H-Hold on a minute, we didn't know- it was dark by the time we got here, we had no idea it was private property!" she protested.
Her mount snorted and pawed at the ground, getting closer to the mare. He shook his head, dark mane tossed to either side of his neck, and darted forward in what might have been an attempt to dislodge Hero so he could take Aya back.
Another hiss at the girls beast, backing Sunshine up.
"Tame your beast, Girl, or I'll put it down for being rabid," he frowned again, looking down at the top of her head wirh a frown. Though, he supposed he should blame himself for the next problwm.
When Darkmoon darted forward, Sunshine reared back.
"Sunshine!" He gasped, reaching forward in a desperate attempt to grab something.
Hero was thrown and Sunshine took off and being Duhjari stock she was a very fast horse. Hero rolled onto his hands and knees, gasping for air a moment before he got up and began to run after the girl and his horse. "Sunshine!"
Aya had approximately four seconds to adjust her position in the mare so she was riding properly. "Whoa, girl, easy," she leaned forward to murmur to the horse, even as her heart was racing against her ribcage. "It's alright, it's alright. I'm sorry Moonie scared you, but he's not so bad."
She continued her quiet murmurings as te draques came up on their right, giving the mare space but most certainly tailing them so he could keep an eye on Aya.
( Feel free to move Sunshine around in future posts! Also. I'm entertained by the horses names. Sunshine and Darkmoon. They should have a little Eclipse. -ba-dum-tsh!)
Hero, not of particularly fast legs, jogged the best he could to keep up to the horses.
Mostly to his horse.
Sunshine however kept running. Trying to veer away from the draques but finding that he just wasn't leaving. It was about a minute and a half of flat out gallop before Sunshine started to slow down, turning around and trotting back towards Hero who was still yelling her name.
(Noted, haha. The names have been amusing me too- and Darkmoon is looking for mares anyway :3)
"Easy, easy." Aya finally got Sunshine to calm down as she slowed and she leaned down over her neck. "Good girl, easy. Good girl."
Darkmoon nickered what might have been an apology, ducking his head and huffing at the mare in a friendly sort of way. As Hero approached though, his ears pinned back and he shifted his bulk protectively in front of the females.
Aya sat back and smirked. "I think you're the one who needs to what was it? Control your beast?" She patted Sunshine's neck to tell her she was only kidding and the mare gave a little bob of her head, seeming a bit more relaxed.
Hero frowned deeply.
"Look," he snarled, "get off my horse, get onto yours and I'll escort you back somewhere safe." It didnt amaze him that Sunshine had calmed - she was a good horse. "Its dangerous here, Little Girl," he frowned, "And I apologize for the rock."
Aya eyes him warily. "You won't turn me in to the guard?" she negotiated, though she did swing down of the mare to take Darkmoon's head, stroking his neck.
Hero gave the girl a frown before sighing and closing his eyes.
"I wont take you to the guard, but it truley isnt safe here so let's go," he urged, moving to Sunshine, pressing a kiss to her muzzle and stroking her neck. "C'mon pretty girl," he said softly before moving to her side and climbing up.
"I'll tend to your head once we get out of here, okay?" He gave the girl a look before nudging Sunshine to go.
"Fine, deal." Aya nodded sharply and mounted Darkmoon. Now that his girl was safely on his back, he seemed much calmer, even putting a little prance in his step to show off for the mare. Aya rolled her eyes at his showboating.
A small frown and Hero watched the girl.
Just what was she doing out here with that beast? Hero tilted his head, looking at the... Horse... Thing. Obviously it cared for her. So that was nice. Sunshine trotted along though she kept veering closer to the horse and Hero kept tugging her away. He wasn't fond of being pressed so close to someone else while they were both mounted on animals.
"Is he okay?" Hero asked, looking at the horse the girl was on, "He was just super pissed and..." He looked down at Sunshine, frowning again. "Look, Kid, I apologize for the rock, I didn't intend to hurt you and .... C'mon." He nudged them along, to a creek he knew was safe.
Simply because he himself had putt he wards up.
"My name is Herostratus, I'm a knight and I'd really like to take care of your head wound before we get back home, okay?" He frowned, looking down at himself and chewing on his lip for a moment before he tilted his head curiously.
Aya had to continually pull Darkmoon back from Sunshine so her leg wasn't knocking into the knight's. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "He's fine. He's finicky about mares- but if he takes a liking to one there's really not much I can do to keep him focused," she muttered.
Glancing over, she added a bit patronizingly, "Of course he was pissed. As far as he's concerned you attacked his girl. He's pretty possessive." Darkmoon snorted, tossing his mane in an effort to get Sunshine's attention, and she rolled her eyes again.
When they reached the creek and he offered to look at her head, Aya raised a hand to touch the wound and winced. It was still bleeding- but that was normal for headwounds, right? "Um, thanks...Herostratus." Gods that was a mouthful. "I'm Aya, by the way. Not Kid."
Aya.
That was pretty.
The stallion though. The stallion bothered him. Sunshine was his horse. His golden eyes flicked to the girl and he smirked. "You look like a kid," he quipped lifting an eyebrow in challenge. She actually looked like a full grown woman - as his father would say 'she'd make a very agreeable wife.
The girl didn't have to know that though and for Hero, the little pleasures in life were worth it. Finally they got to the creek and Hero dismounted, taking his polearm from the side of Sunshine's saddle and moving to the creek.
Needed a cloth.
Hero chewed on his lip for a moment before he started to unbuckle the bulky armour from his chest and arms. First was the helmet, then the pauldrons. Breastplate. Arm pieces. His hair was long and done up in a tight braid against his head where if trailed down to the middle of his back.
A loud rip and half his sleeve was gone.
"C'mon, Kid, lets get your head checked out," he patted the rock beside him, "and, Hero works fine. Or Knight Guy. Or any other nickname you can think up. I hate everything equally."
Aya snorted as she dismounted, giving Darkmoon a quick pat before letting him roam. Of course he sidled his way over to the mare, kicking out his heels and prancing a bit.
Still a little dizzy, Aya sort of stumbled her way over to Hero's side. She gave him a sort of tired, crooked smile. "No Sir? Just plain old Hero?"
Sir.
"I'm not that old," he mumbled, glancing over to Sunshine who looked a little too interested in the stallion for her own good. Hero looked back to the girl and urged her to sit, and then he started to part her hair after dipping the shirt bits into the water.
"Oh gods," he breathed looking at the damange, "I winged you good." He wiped at the blood before he smoothed a hand down her hair. "I'm really sorry." He breathed again, glancing over at Sunshine, "Whats his name?"
Aya hissed quietly as he touched the wound, but she tried to hold still. "It's- ow! I never said you are old. I thought knights were always called "Sir". Ow!"
She bit her lip and answered almost more tosisteact herself than anything else. "Darkmoon. His name is Darkmoon. I call him Moonie."
The stallion snorted and gave her an offended look and she smirked.
"Oh," was Hero's simple reply. Sure the cries of pain made him feel bad, since it was his fault but she shouldnt have been there to begin with. Hero went about cleaning up the blood from her hair and listened to her speak.
Darkmoon, huh?
"Darkmoon, well, Darkmoon," he addressed the draques, "meet Sunshine." He nodded to his palomino girl, a true bred Duhjari horse one of the more famed fast horses. He wasnt sure if there was something special about them, but he knew most riders would pay a pretty penny for a horse like her.
Sunshine flicked her tail before wandering off into the bushes, followiny a trail of juicy grassed and Hero just watched her. Glancing every now and then. "She's my mount. She doesnt actually battle with me, usually I jump off and she goes somewhere safe," he didnt really feel the need to supoly the girl with information, but maybe talking would help keep her mind off the pain.
"What is he?" He finally asked, examining the wound and was glad to find it wasnt that bad.
The stallion looked up at the sound of his name, gave Hero an unimpressed snort, then ambled along after Sunshine, now evidently more interested in the grass than the mare.
"She's beautiful," Aya murmured absently, meaning it. She was no stranger to well bred horses, and Aunahine was obviously of fine stock. "Oh, he's a draques. A dragon-horse," she answered distractedly, glad that at least now she wasn't so dizzy.
Hero frowned when the boy horse followed his girl horse into the bushes. Now he couldn't see them. Horses didn't just have babies right? They had to court or something like birds... Right? He shook his head, not about to voice his thoughts to the girl that clearly knew a lot about horses and he went about examining the wound again.
It had stopped bleeding, so that was good.
"You should sit for a while," he said softly, tilting his head. Just a kid. Hero sighed, a kid he whacked in the head with a rock. Fuck. "Sunshine is beautiful," He said softly, "A fast smart girl," He nodded, glancing back over to where they went, "Mostly smart girl. I don't think she's ever met a ... Draques before."
Aya chuckled. "Not many have. I think Moonie's one of maybe a handful in Adela. I don't even know where they come from, originally."
She winced a bit again, but she could tell that the bleeding had stopped. "So? Do I pass inspection?" she quipped with a crooked grin back and up at the knight.
"You do," He said softly, eyeing her head again and smoothing a friendly hand over her head, "I really am sorry, Kid, I thought you were another wrym or a drake so I just... Hucked a rock." He winced, thinking of how hard he'd thrown it.
"Can I at least ... Take you home? I think your Moonie would hunt me down and try to murder me if you were to faint on his watch or something," he frowned and looked around, trying to keep his ear out for any horsing around going on.
"Oh..." She bit her lip, hedging. While it made sense, and she was grateful for the offer, she knew she was already in serious trouble- she couldn't imagine showing up with some strange, dragon-slaying knight would really help matters.
But she knew he was probably right. "Ah, sure. Thanks." She tried for a small smile and nodded slightly.
He eyed the girl before smirking.
"Is this a joy ride?" he questioned, lifting an eyebrow and smirking at the girl, "Where is this stable? Do you own it?"
She shifted uncomfortably. "No! I mean- no, I just...work there. But it's not like- Darkmoon wouldn't leave me alone, he said he needed to stretch his wings," she protested a little desperately.
"He said?" Hero repeated, lifting an eyebrow and looking at the girl with a smirk. Now she could talk to horses, wasnt that fancy. "And? Stretch his wings aaaaall the way out here?" He grinned, tilting his head curiously, "Well. If he breaks loose and you chased after him thats not really your fault, is it?"
Aya blinked, then smiled slowly. "I...suppose that's right." She tilted her head at him. "Aren't knights supposed to be all about following rules and whatnot? Why are you helping me?" The question was only half teasing.
Hero pursed his lips, a rustle in the bushes had him frown for a moment but he turned to the girl again. "Well, i hit you in the head with a rock," he added simply, head tilted to the sude, "least I can do is help you be a terrible person and lie."
She wrinkled her nose at him. "Not my fault Moonie's owner never exercised him," she defended. Her eyes flicked in the direction the horses had gone and she drowned alighrlt, nervous now that Darkmoon was out of sight.
With a small sigh she stood up. "Well, thanks. And no hard feelings about the rock."
Sure.
No hard feelings about the rock.
Hero bit his lip and nodded at the girl.
No hard feelings, but if anyone saw that they'd ask questions and then she'd need an answer and what kind of answer was 'Yeah, a knight threw a rock at me but it's okay now.'
Hero whistled, a shrill short one, one that was to call Sunshine over.
When she didn't answer, he gave the girl a gentle pat on the head and stood up, meandering his way over to the bushes before he pushed aside a branch and balked.
"Oh my gods, your horse is taking advantage of my horse," He stared, open mouthed before he took a step forward and remembering how nasty 'Moonie' was, simply frowned. There was no stopping it now, apparently. "I may have forgotten horses are creatures of opportunity and we gave them quite the opportunity," He swallowed thickly and continued staring, not really sure what to do now.
Aya blinked when he patted her head, not sure how to react to the gesture, and stared after him. His dumbstruck expression informed her of what might be happening a moment before the words left his mouth and she groaned, rubbing at her temples and closing her eyes.
"Great. That's great. Well, we're gonna be stuck here for a bit."
She sighed and got to her feet, pulling at the knight's arm to tow him away. Moonie was territorial at the best of times, he was likely to take one of Hero's limbs off if the knight got too close now.
"C'mon. There's really not much we can do but wait," she muttered.
Stuck?
Hero frowned deeply and let himself be pulled away.
"What exactly is your beast doing to my horse?" Hero yelped, looking a cross between panicked, irritated and angry. "And why are we stuck here?!"
She huffed again and folded her arms. "Well, what do you think he's doing?" she demanded exasperatedly. "Look, stallions get territorial at the best of times, do you really wanna mess with a draquus when he's..." She trailed off and waved a hand expressively.
Hero stared at her before he cast a look over his shoulder.
Huh.
"Well, shit," he said softly, anger hot in his belly. This was great. Well, hopefully nothing would... Happen.
"So... what. We stuck hanging out for a few hours or something?" He said gently, pushing a hand through his hair and sighing.
"I suppose." Aya sighed and unconsciously mimicked his gesture, running her fingers through her hair with a huff. "We could get some distance though- Moonie will find me, when, ah...when he's ready."
Blushing a bit, she shook her head and mumbled a few curses at the horse under her breath.
I suppose.
"You suppose?!" Hero snapped, looking at the girl -less than pleased. A wrinkle of his nose and he sighed and clenched his hands. "And what do you plan on doing about this?" He started, shuffling away from the scary dragon-horse. "Do horses have to get married?"
Aya blinked at him, then snorted. "Ah, no. At least, I've never heard of something like that. Some stallions can get particularly attached to certain mares in their herd, but they aren't exactly a "soul mates" kind of animal."
Although...well, dragons tended to mate for life, maybe Darkmoon had a bit of that trait? She had no way of knowing.
Well shit. That could make taking him away from the mare complicated...
She huffed and rubbed at her temples. "Come on, we really should get some space between us and them."
Hero frowned at her, arms crossed over his chest.
"I hope you realize you've made my day very bad. What if my horse gets pregnant. He's not wooing her behind those bushes." He kicked a rock angrily - one of the main things that got him into this mess, "This is what I get. I kill a drake and then my horse finds herself a fucking boyfriend. Literally." Calm. Be calm.
He clenched his fists and his jaw, neck tense, shoulders back. He grabbed the girls wrist and dragged her away like she'd instructed - he was less than gentle - and he let go of her roughly once they were - he thought - a decent amount away. "So, what. You gonna give me a new horse when she's fat? I don't exactly have the disposable income and I can't ride a horse that's going to spit out a little... Horse-Demon." He wrinkled his nose, clearly not pleased.
"Excuse you." Aya jerked her hand away from him, glaring. "You think you've got it bad? Do you know much much coin people would put up to put Moonie out to stud? I wasn't even supposed to be out riding him! They're going to skin me!"
She blinked as the reality of that statement sunk in. "Oh gods. Well this is perfect- you get your very own draques and I wind up fired!"
That made him angrier.
"You stole him!?" He snapped, angry. Irritated. Today sucked. His horse was going to get pregnant with some beast by a stolen horse with weird parts and he pressed his hands to his temples and went red with anger. This was bullshit. "I don't want a draques. I want my horse to not be pregnant." A deep breath.
Okay.
"He got out," Herostratus ground out, "He got out and he found Sunshine and you're exhausted and he was already goin' for it and I'll vouch for you and you can have the weird abomination that comes out of her." He frowned down at the young girl and held out a hand to shake, "Deal?"
She glared, then snapped her hand out to grab his. "Fine. But only if you stop calling it an abomination."
She shook his hand once, then snatched her hand back. "Y'know, she might not even get pregnant. It's like fifty-fifty that a draques can breed with a normal horse."
Aya sighed and rubbed at her temples. "Look, I'm sorry. But I can't control what kinds of mares he finds attractive. And..." She chewed at her lip. "Their mating instinct can be a bit...possessive. Hell wantnto be around her, at least until the foal is born, if there's a foal. Maybe after, too."
Heostratus frowned and crossed his arms over his chest after their handshake.
"Fifty-fifty is still a lot," Hero hissed at the girl, "GREAT," he snapped, pressing his hands through what hair he could, "just great. How... Fine, you know what." He shook his head, lifting his hands and giving them a shake, "Sunshine is all yours. Let me know when and if she pops the foal out so I can take her back." Hero pressed his fists to his face before he sighed, "How about you just... Tell me about these Draques, okay? Or something?"
[sorry for delay!! Totally missed this update somehow :/]
"What? No!" She shook her head. "Are you insane? I'm not taking your horse from you. Even if I did, I'd have to explain to my boss why, and then I'd be in trouble all over again."
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look- I'm good at what I do. You tell me where I can find you, and I'll make sure Sunshine is properly looked after if she ends up pregnant, okay?"
Another sigh and Aya raised her head. "Well...what do you want to know?"
Hero frowned at Aya, lips pursed. Great. Won't even take his problem child away. Going and getting herself potentially pregnant. Thank Spirits he wasn't a father or he'd be even more furious. He didn't want to give her his home address but... "Fine. I'll take you there before I escort you and your... Beast home."
Hero crossed his arms over his chest before sitting down in the grass, angry, irritated. "What exactly makes that beast so sought after?" He was curious, "Kinda just looks scary to me and I think he'd have tried to eat my foot if I stayed on Sunshine for long."
Aya sighed. "Simplest terms? Magic." She shrugged. "They're powerful, and they can be dangerous, but if you can properly train one, they're some of the most loyal mounts you could find. They make good chargers; stamina is insane, and of course there's the whole flying thing."
Another shrug and she glanced back in the direction of the horses with a wince. "The breed was created through magical experimentation, but that's not the only way to get one."
"So... DragonHorses," Which made sense, considering what they were called. Draques. Or something. Hero sighed and looked down at the ground, grassy and more inviting at the moment then rocks. Slowly he moved to his back and lay down, staring up at the sky, hands behind his head while he sighed and kept his eyes closed. This was some bullshit.
"So, if Sunshine does end up pregnant with a weird dragonhorse... Is it gonna be weird because she isn't one? I mean..." He sighed, "Either way, can your boss know about it? Do I become the owner of one of these things? Or are you gonna take it? I mean..." He sighed and sat up, "It's not like I can't take care of some baby horse-things, I'm well off enough." Hero pushed his hands through his hair.
"I just don't know how to deal with pregnant horses. You sure you can take care of her if she does end up full of baby? Promise? You can't just walk out on me on this."
Hesitantly, Aya sat on the grass beside him. "I'm sure," she murmured. "I help the mares in our stable foal whenever they need an extra hand. I've had some practice."
She sighed and propped her chin in her hand. "It shouldn't be an issue that Sunshine's not a draques. Really the only difference between a normal foal and what she'd have is how possessive they are. Not to mention Moony will want to make sure his baby and baby-mama are okay all the time."
Baby-mama.
Hero visibly cringed.
What a hot mess this was.
He supposed it was worse for the girl. At least he was an adult and had his own place. Well off, a knight of Adela! The girl was... Maybe down on her luck? "Right, well, I have things to do so the sooner we can figure this out and your horse stops bothering my horse" Hero pressed his hands to his face and groaned.
"Can you go see if he's done yet? I have actual work to do... Like take you back home." He grumbled.
Aya winced. "Yeah. Ah- sure." Cautiously, she crept toward the foliage that hid the two animals from view.
Darkmoon and Sunshine stood perfectly content, nose to tail, absently grooming each other's backs. The draques jerked his head up a bit when he smelled the girl and gave a friendly snort in her direction.
She sighed. "Alright, you can come over."
Hero scrunched his nose in distaste and replaced the armor bits he'd taken off for his comfort.
Great.
Just great.
He meandered over, arms crossed over his chest and watched the girl and then looked to the animals, frowning. Sunshine got a deathglare.
"So. Do I take sunshine with me and then.. Shuffle her off to you when she starts to get fat?"
She sighed and rubbed at the back of her neck. "Or you could...call on me, when I'm needed. I can tell you where I live and work- I'm always at one place or the other. I'm happy to help out with her wherever you keep her boarded, you don't need to pass her entirely into my custody."
She giggled a bit when she got writhing sniffing range of the mare and Sunshine gave her a curious going over, breathing into the mare's nostrils and smiling when she returned the favor to learn her scent.
Another chuckle and she glanced over her shoulder at the knight. "She loves you a lot, you know."