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Ah, this was more like it. The sun was shining, the area was quiet, and there was shade nearby for when the day got too hot. It was almost midday; Meleager’s morning had been taken up with business, and he had only just found time to himself. Time to eat had also been somewhat lacking, and so the herdleader had taken this opportunity to graze, in an area of D’ob relatively free of herdmembers who might bother him.

Free of distractions, the stallion was surprised to find that his mind drifted not back to the morning’s business, or to other matters concerning the herd, but to a couple of days previously – and a certain Ichsa mare. Kallisto… He wondered how she was getting on with her training. Of course, she’d only had a couple of days yet. She probably wasn’t even settled in. When a little more time had passed, he would find an excuse to watch the training, he decided, and happen to watch her group.

The dappled Reya sighed, chewing thoughtfully. So he was slightly preoccupied with her lately. Well, that made sense. She was a pretty mare, intelligent, friendly, and now she was going to become a warrior. There was nothing wrong with being attracted to her – she had even shown signs of interest in him. All in all, she was as close to perfect as was realistically possible. So why was this bothering him?

Meleager shook his head and took another mouthful of grass. This was going to take some time to figure out – and he’d best do that before he spoke to Kallisto again.

He had been wondering when Castor would notice him. Smirking slightly, the grey Reya dipped his head briefly in greeting as he turned to the tactician. “Castor-hellene. I’m well, thank you. And you?” Meleager smiled, a little surprised to find that he didn’t mind the intrusion on his solitude. “Nice fruit?” he added, his smile widening to a grin with a hint of good-natured teasing in it. Such a thing could happen to anyone, but it was undoubtedly amusing.

Now he thought about it, perhaps the Ichsa-winged tactician turning up was fate – it was certainly something that could be made use of. He had no idea how much experience the younger stallion had with mares – he was certainly attractive enough to gain their interest – but in any case he was intelligent, and could perhaps offer a useful insight into the situation. He might feel a fool asking advice from Castor, but if he was honest with himself he felt a bit of a fool already for not knowing what to do.

Perhaps he was just out of practice. He hadn’t been in this sort of situation since… well, discounting Iris, who he had accepted as the one he would never quite manage to get over – since Leto. Helen’s mother had been an impulse and a mistake; their relationship had never been based on more than desire, until they had had a foal. And when she was gone… Well, the resulting mess had made him determined not to get into such a situation again. If he was going to go about finding a mate, he needed to get it right.

The shorter grey stallion had in fact been eyeing up the fruit when he had first spotted the tree, but resigned himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to get to taste it. Now, a little surprised by Castor’s offer, and the fact that he’d made a joke – he hadn’t expected that of the young tactician – Meleager grinned and nodded. "If you would." He had no problem with the jibe at his height; he was taller than most Reya, he knew it, and in any case he had no reason to be sensitive about it. Perhaps he was too proud, the dappled stallion mused briefly, but he knew that his physique was enviable. He was well-muscled and had the power to go with it, tall for his breed, and handsome. There were few jibes that would really have hit a sore spot.

There was really only one thing guaranteed to make the herdleader angry, and that was nothing physical. No, just a mention of his daughters. Meleager knew his temper was his weakness, but it was also a strength. It served him well in battle, and since it had its advantages he saw no reason to try to change. He had the right to get angry about Melantho – after what she’d done… But Castor was certainly intelligent enough to avoid that situation.

Meleager crossed into the shade beneath the sweet-water tree, looking up at the plump fruits. They hung just out of his reach. Indeed, it was useful to have an Aeri around, even if Castor was only half-blooded. He had the height, and that was what counted.

Meleager found himself watching the pale-coated crossbreed as he stretched up to get the fruit. Castor was more graceful than he had expected, given his height and slim build. His attention was taken by the task of obtaining the pink fruit, and the muscled Reya felt no shame in taking the opportunity to look him over appreciatively, his gaze lingering for a moment on the lines of the crossbreed’s body. He had been wrong in his earlier assessment, he concluded – although not classically attractive by Hellene standards, since they tended towards liking muscles, the master tactician was still a rather good-looking Nequus. And in any case he had brains, which was attractive in itself. The older stallion would be surprised if he was not experienced in relationship matters.

As Castor dropped back down with the fruit, Meleager blinked and pretended that he hadn’t been staring just a little. There was nothing wrong with that, but it might have been slightly awkward if the Ichsa-winged stallion had noticed. Flicking his tails absentmindedly, the stallion bent down to take a bite of the fruit. It was indeed good, and he nodded at his companion’s comment, swallowing and looking up to reply. “It is. You made a good choice,” he added with a smile.

As he took another bite, the grey stallion thought back to what he had originally intended to ask Castor about. Ah yes. Kallisto. He chewed slowly, framing a sentence ion his mind, choosing his words carefully. “Castor,” he began, looking up at the other Hellene after swallowing his mouthful of the pink fruit, “Did I mention when we spoke last that I was thinking of looking for a mate? Well… there have been certain developments.”

"Hmm." Meleager noticed the slightly hesitant eye contact; was he making Castor uncomfortable? He wasn't sure, but he couldn't really change the subject now. "Good... well." He paused, wondering if there was a way he could put across his concerns without sounding or feeling a complete fool. "I met someone - an Ichsa mare named Kallisto. She's new to the Hellenes, and she's just started army training. Since I put her in touch with a tutor." He smiled, and then continued a little less certainly. "She seemed interested - but I'm not sure if she was genuine or just being a flirt. Being new, she might have... just wanted to catch my attention, or something. I'm not sure."

The Reya stallion paused, smiling somewhat embarrassedly at the tactician. "I know it's not your area of expertise, but you are a tactician - what would you do if you were new and happened to meet the herdleader?"

There. That was probably the least awkward way of putting it. He hoped he didn't make the younger Nequus too uncomfortable; he was asking in a friendly capacity not an official one, although he supposed him acquiring an heir might count as herd business. Meleager wasn't entirely sure why he had chosen to ask Castor's advice, other than the fact that he was a very good tactician. The pale blue crossbreed was just one of those he liked almost instantly, he supposed, although as usual he doubted he could justify exactly why.

Meleager paused for several moments, considering the alternatives Castor had laid out – the least likely first. If Kallisto had joined the herd in order to bring it down, she would surely have to be more experienced than she had appeared. If she was hiding that, she wouldn’t have let him introduce her to a tutor and other trainees. Or she was much less intelligent than she’d seemed, and thought she could bring down the herd despite her inexperience. The grey Reya dismissed that idea, leaving the two far more likely possibilities. Kallisto just wanted to be a Hellene – or she wanted power…

This was the point where he was forced to admit to himself that, like Castor, he wasn’t always the best at judging people – although so far he hadn’t noticed it in the younger stallion. The muscled Reya nodded slowly. “Thank you. I agree, the third possibility is unlikely, but I’ll be careful.” He shot the pale-coated crossbreed a brief smile before continuing, “As for the other two… I don’t know. I couldn’t read her; perhaps because I don’t know her all that well yet, but…” Meleager sighed absentmindedly. “My tendency to make instant decisions serves me well in battle, but outside of it I sometimes find myself blinded by first impressions.”

As soon as he spoke, he realised that perhaps it had not been wise to admit his weakness to the other Hellene. A moment after that, he also realised that Castor was unlikely to take advantage of it, if he was as inexpert at dealing with people as he had implied. Shifting position somewhat awkwardly, the dappled stallion avoided his subordinate’s eyes and added, “Time will tell, I suppose.”

The dappled stallion had taken the opportunity, while the other Nequus was speaking, to take a bite of the fruit at his feet. He chewed a little more slowly than was absolutely necessary as he considered the crossbreed’s words. Of course, he was right about the situation as it would affect the herd; but that was only to be expected. Meleager already knew that he needed to find a mate. It was not that that he was considering as he delayed his reply. Castor liked him? That was certainly a good thing, given the amount of time they would be spending together as members of the High Council. And pleasing, too, since he liked the younger stallion himself. It was nice to be liked.

He believed Castor was genuine, as well. He thought he could read the crossbreed, unlike Kallisto, and he could detect no hint of untruth in his tone or expression. Meleager swallowed, and was about to reply with something suitable when the tactician spoke again. He took another mouthful of the juicy sweet-water fruit as he listened, and nodded in agreement.

“Indeed; that would be a good opportunity for expansion without annoying any of our neighbours. I don’t think that so many of the herd would follow my example as to make a significant difference, though.” Truth be told that was not the method he would prefer to use to increase the size of the herd, but Castor was probably well aware of that. Glancing across at him, his Reya tails and Ichsa wings, Meleager frowned slightly, and added, “There is always the problem of finding outlanders who share the Hellenic values – equality for stallions and mares, no discrimination against crossbreeds, the true warrior spirit…”

Surreptitiously running his gaze over the other stallion’s handsome form again, Meleager wondered idly if he had a mate. The tactician had said nothing about it, and it might be too pushy to ask, but he couldn’t help being curious.

Meleager himself had never seen the problem with crossbreeds that some people had. Often the combinations of characteristics they inherited were advantageous, and even if some, like Castor, were less fortunate, they generally made up for that in other ways. The Master Tactician had his intelligence, and his height – his height was definitely useful, the grey stallion thought with a smile to himself as he took another bite of the sweet-water fruit. It was a shame that the trees that such fruit grew on tended to be too tall for anyone other than those with Aeri blood to reach them. Perhaps he would have to keep the other stallion around more often. Although, of course, he had better things to be doing that fetching the herdleader fruit. Maybe not.

He certainly wouldn’t mind spending more time with Castor, though. Since the pale stallion had shown a sense of humour and, more importantly, hadn’t made him feel foolish for asking for advice about Kallisto, Meleager had begun to like him more than his first instinct had been. He hoped that they could be friends, or something close to that. He had been fairly close to Phaedra before her death, and although it was hard to strike the right balance in relationships with his immediate subordinates, it was definitely good to be friendly with council members.

The dapple grey stallion swallowed, and nodded in response to the tactician’s comment. “Yes… If I meet any other outstanding newcomers, I’ll be sure to point you in their direction,” he added with a grin. By that remark he guessed that Castor was single; a pity, the muscled Reya thought. He would certainly have to look for someone suitable to set the other Hellene up with.