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He still wasn't exactly sure why he looked so much different than both his mother and father. It was true that his mother was just as blue as he was--but she didn't have twigs or leaves or strangely slitted eyes. The young colt was alone, as per usual, scrambling through the underbrush in search of something that might entertain him. He wasn't having much luck. A huffed sigh slipped past his gnarled maw before he eventually paused, glancing back towards the forests with eyes that should have rendered him blind. The forest... It gave him the creeps. Part of him always wanted to slip away unseen and vanish past the old trees that guarded its entrance, but there was something too... familiar. He'd never been in that forest before, so why should he feel like he knew it so well?

Giving his head a shake, Diriel pushed away his thoughts and forced himself to focus on something else. Like... where was the rest of his family, for example? One twitch of his tail, and he was bounding off in search. His emotions were mingled as he peered about the clearing, hesitant to call out less he be met with more disappointed. His parents didn't like him very much. The thought threatened to make his ears droop, but the colt merely snorted with indignation. Well, then that was their problem! He was nice! ...Even if maybe he looked a little scary.

"Mom?" Where'd she gone off to? At least blue sort of stuck out against all the foliage around here. Holding back another sigh, the colt wriggled his way out into the open, pausing to glance around. Hm..

The sound of a familiar voice was enough to make his ears perk a little, the rustle of tree limbs emerging from his back even as he quickly sought out the sound. Ah, and there was the familiar hint of blue, the long and pretty braids that made Mom... well, Mom. But the voice she greeted him with wasn't anything he was surprised by. He knew he scared her. The thought alone was enough to make his stomach flip a little, the gnarled corners of his lips pulling themselves downward in a frown. It was enough to make his eagerness abide a little, letting him move forward slowly, almost cautiously. Still, her pinned ears were enough to let him know he'd upset her, and the colt had to resist the urge to sigh with frustration.

His... father? He had to resist the urge to grit his teeth a little, unable to quash the little flicker of dislike that flared up within his chest. No, no, he didn't hate his father, that wasn't it at all. Whenever his father was near, he made Diriel feel so... was there even a word for it? Unwanted? Like he didn't belong? The other stallion couldn't have meant it, and the colt tried to remind himself of that fact often. Still, it put a damper on his already soured mood.

"...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you waiting." He offered after a moment, staring up at her with slitted eyes that held no pupils. Still, her words sat with him strangely, and the colt resisted the urge to pry deeper. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. So... Was his father the only reason his mother hadn't gone home yet?

That can't have been what she meant. Diriel gave his head a slight shake, suddenly abashed at himself for thinking like that. She was his mother. She loved him... didn't she?