Claude had long suspected the weather affected him more acutely than most other Soquili. And unfortunate trait he passed on to his son who spent the majority of the winter sleeping or in a foul mood. However the turn in the weather had lifted both of their spirits. Lafayette had gone off on his massive trek to keep his muscles and wits toned, and Claude had departed from his mate to go on his own small adventure. Raising foals, Claude had been stuck at home pretty much all day, with private time for obvious natural needs. Now that they were all grown and off on their own lives he had more time both to be with his mate and by himself.
He breathed deeply and enjoyed the blessed silence. Children, for some reason, felt the need to fill every moment with sounds of some sort. Whether they were shrieking with laughter, or bickering, or just talking to hear their own voices. Claude was sure he would lose his hearing before they had grown. Yes, at time the silence became too much and he and Istas found themselves desperate for sound, so much that they forced small talk that obviously wasn't going to carry on too far. Sometimes his ears began to ring from it all.
The forest was not so far of a walk that Claude lost sight of his home, and it was thin enough that the lake still shimmered in the distance. He was looking forward to a deserted stream to relax by, but was not unpleasantly surprised to see the dark mare grazing not too far up stream form him.
"Oh, pardon me," He said happily, bowing his apology, "I did not mean to intrude on you, Miss.