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Either Loveless had not focused her senses as well as she thought or Hex was simply out of range because the dark mare was not alone. The stallion had noticed someone nearby and the scent was only vaguely familiar, and not because he had personally met this mare. No, he had faintly smelled this mare upon his mentor, Anevay. He was not the curious sort, but he was territorial, and that was the main reason he even decided to approach. With Anevay gone, he was less inclined to play the silent role.

His browny-red coat did wonders to hide him against the bark of trees, but if the light caught it just right, a glimmer of shine was detectable.

"It is difficult to tell who is hiding...and who is doing the seeking," came a soft, rumbling, acid-laced retort that was definitely not Anevay's. "I don't like playing games, at any rate."

A quiet rustling noise of brush soon heralded the appearance of a dark-coated male with bright red streaks amidst a coal-black mane. He seemed composed enough aside from a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, which exposed only the very tip of a chipped fang.

Hex regarded Loveless with an almost unnerving sort of calmness, a knowing smirk finally drawing itself across his muzzle as a light of calculation lit his eyes.

"I thought the marking would have been clear to those who know of Maeryn. Why else would one bear markings of another if they were not related in some fashion?" He chuckled hoarsely, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly. "And Anevay...what is it to you that I might smell of such a mare?"

"Maeryn would be pleased to know she is appreciated, I am sure. Had you spoken ill of her, I'm afraid I'd have had to address that situation, and not to your advantage. Clearly, I am one of her sons."

He slipped out fully from the cloak of protection he found in the shadows and brush, his tail snaking behind him ominously through the leaf litter. He kept his wings tucked fully to save them from snags upon tough branches, but it was clear that they were proportioned to match his large frame.

"I am not surprised I smell of the mare. I spend a great deal of time in her company, for she has been my mentor since I was born. Nothing more, nothing less." He hoped that might clear up any thoughts that this stallion had perhaps been more than just a student to the gemstone mare; Hex had never been romantically inclined to Anevay, especially when she had punished him fiercely from missteps in training. "My name is Hex."

"Anevay enjoys giving advice to those who ask for it...and to those who do not ask for it. I believe your father is one of those. Anevay has spoken of him to me at times." He openly chuckled at that, remembering the venom that the mare had put to her words when talking about the white-skinned male with an ego problem. "I, personally, have never met him. From what I hear, I am loathe to do so."

He said this bluntly, with no apology to his tone. Hex had no wish to deal with a stallion that regarded lessers as equals, especially one that Anevay had expressed annoyance over.

"Your name is also familiar to me, Loveless. You've been spoke of many times." He did not give away in his voice if what he heard was good or bad; instead, he wanted the mare to wonder...to worry even. He always enjoyed letting others stew in uncertainty. It gave him satisfaction.

Hex flared his nostrils at Loveless' avoidance of asking about what sorts of things Anevay had said, but he could cue in on her surprise. He offered no answer to her statement, only issuing another chuckle in a mysterious, knowing sort of way. He was irritated though, not getting the desired result he had been hoping for.

The smooth transition into something a little less innocent and a little more carnal made Hex stop laughing and his eyes flickered across Loveless' form ever so briefly. "Anevay has taught me many things, being that she is a mare and is clearly one that enjoys satisfying her inner desires," he commented dryly, seeing where this exchange might be heading. "I spent nearly every waking hour beneath her watchful eye and she beneath mine."

"My desires are just that. Mine...not for manipulation by anyone, even by a striking mare."

He was again blunt, eyes narrowing slightly as he recognized the game that he'd seen Anevay play many times before and had been trained to ward against. Loveless was a very fine specimen of a female Kalona and at another time, he might be inclined for a bit of foolishness, but he had learned to be wary of kalona mares that tried to solicit him upon first meeting. He appreciated her boldness, if nothing else. At least she wasn't meek.