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It made things a lot easier for Corsant (and Antony by association) that Mariasha didn't have a pre-existing prejudice to overcome. Natural caution was well and good, an understandable thing for parents to encourage in their children; raving paranoia and an inbred distrust of all strangers or all Soquili with unusual traits was something much harder to address and something nearly impossible to shake. Antony himself had been fortunate in having obvious mixed breed traits, as did his son: both stallions had solid hooves and hair tails, which would always identify them as mixes to any other Soquili even slightly familiar with the kalona race. As long as those traces remained, socialization would be at least a little bit easier for them, as long as they weren't dealing with actual pure-blooded kalona!

And Mariasha, whatever else could be said of her, was no full-blooded kalona, so they were safe on that front!

Indeed, Antony found her delightfully amusing in her frankness. He'd been a blunt foal himself (and grown into an equally blunt adult, as his mate was often reminding him with a mixture of annoyance and amusement); his best friend had been regular, his mother an insane kalona, his father a lasvicious wind; as a young adult he'd been a wanderer and a player himself, and had enjoyed meeting all sorts of Soquili, but since settling down with Loveless he had become a great deal more sedentary in his habits. It was a pleasure to meet a little unrelated spark again; he'd really have to try and get out more often!

But in the meantime, he'd sport a bit with the foals. He knew his son's disposition to know that he wouldn't be upset at Antony answering the filly, at least not seriously, so he was quick to respond to her query about Corsant with a shake of his head "Not a bad colt, no, just a young one and a bit clumsy."

Young, Corsant could accept, and clumsy, he had to, but that didn't stop Corsant from breaking in with an exasperated sounding "Daaa-aaaad!"

"What? Are you trying to deny that it's true?" Smiling, Antony ruffled his son's mane, then explained a bit more clearly to Mariasha, "Corsant's mother and I both feel that it's important to make sure that kids are able to sufficiently handle themselves before they're out on their own, startign with walking without tripping over their own feet. Between the three of us, Cor's mother still doesn't think he and his brother and sister are ready, which is why I had to come and get him myself. But that's our secret, right?"

Anxious on that front, Corsant chimed in on his father's heels, feeling that Antony had undersold the importance of that fact. Who knew, Mariasha might end up running into his mother and telling her about this, and then they'd ALL be in trouble! "Yeah, don't tell my Mama that Papa is letting me be by myself at all, otherwise I won't be able to go off alone for AGES, and that'd be boring. So don't tell, Mari!"

Antony, amused at his son's sudden anxiety, was himself confident that the odds of Mariasha revealing such info to Loveless were slim to none. But regardless of her thoughts on the subject, they'd have to be addressed at another time, or they WOULD run the risk of running into Corsant's mother! "Indeed, I'm sure she won't tell Corsant, but it's time for YOU to tell her goodbye, otherwise we'll be late for lunch." This was accompanied by a meaningful glance at the sun, then his son, who in turn sighed gustily.

"Ok, Papa." Himself, Corsant would rather stay out and play more and just miss lunch, but beggars couldn't be choosers these days. With minimal awkwardness and a great deal of good humor, he gave Mariasha a cheery grin and head bow, managing to not lose his balance throughout. "This was really fun, Mari! Next time when we get to play, we'll have to talk more! Bye for now!" Not a hallmark goodbye, but the sentiment and happiness were obvious, if tempered by natural upset at having to go. Tony himself offered Mari a smile, gently steering his son back in the direction they needed and saying back over his shoulder, "Nice meeting you, Mari; make sure you go home safely yourself!"

As they headed back through the trees, both father and son were reflecting positively on the morning. Now if only Loveless didn't catch on...