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He should have known better, Wyeth told himself quietly. No, scratch that; he DID know better, he'd just decided to act like a double damned idiot and ignore that fact for the sake of a little comfort. It was careless behavior, completely reckless under the circumstances, and more befitting to an emotional foal or a heedless teenager than a mature adult like himself. Yet at the moment, Wyeth found himself feeling more like a foal than he had in ages.

The 'Summit summit' had unsettled him no small amount, and it showed. Ever since he was a young foal, he had taken great pride in his family and his place in it. As the eldest son, the eldest child, he had always known that his place was with his father, protecting their home and those who lived there from whatever danger might present itself. Sure, since he had been old enough to take an active place in the herd defenses he had had no true combat experiences, but his father and the other fighters of the herd had trained him. He had never had to fight a true enemy or faced mortal danger, but he had always felt that when the moment came to prove himself, he would not put his line to shame.

Yet when he had heard the fateful purpose of the extraordinary meeting of the Summit's stallions, he had been stunned into complete silence. He was well aware of the reputation of the Kalona in general, but it had been so long since he had heard of any serious dangers along that line that the Kalona had been relegated to the position of childhood boogeymen. It was the skinwalkers who were the true menace, and who he had been particularly vigilant regarding. He had never seen one, but the stories he'd heard and knew to be true were enough.

But all of that had been pushed from his mind as he listened to the news that there was a massed herd of Kalona moving into the Kawani lands. Never before had such a thing happened, he knew, and the gravity of the expressions on the elder stallions' faces had been the nail in the coffin of Wyeth's composure. He had stood by listening as they made plans, and had even for a daring moment considered offering right out of hand to join the "aerial distraction' team. He was certainly flashy enough to catch anyone's notice, with his sparkling wings...

He was ashamed of the fact that he had remained silent, but a few more moments of thought had made him wish to discuss the matter with his father, first. Ambroise knew more of the real danger of the situation than his son, and Wyeth had always been very deferential to Ambroise in matters of combat. He was sure that Ambroise would support him, but he had found himself reverting back into a nervous youth, wanting permission before acting.

After the meeting adjourned, Wyeth had hung around for a few moments in hope of catching his father privately. But he very quickly realized that wasn't going to happen, and he would have to wait for a later moment. Perhaps later that day, when Ambroise returned home.

~~~

He had only meant to go home and wait for Ambroise, nothing more, nothing less. But he hadn't taken into account his mother, who was an extremely astute observer when it came to her sons. If he'd been thinking, he would have returned to patrolling; he SHOULD have returned to patrolling, in fact, especially in light of what he'd just heard. But like the proverbial foal, he had rushed off to the comfort of home and mothering, without a single thought for how he, or the situation, must look.

Guilt was a powerful thing. It made one paranoid, and imagine that the guilty secret was exposed to the world. All it took was one troubled glance from his mother to make Wyeth realize what a foolish move it had been to come home. Of course his mother would see something was on his mind; he'd never been able to conceal anything from her, ever. And the fact that something was on his mind when he was so rarely troubled would, in turn, trouble her, causing her to start wondering what could possibly have gotten under Wyeth's skin. Inevitably, her imagination would kick into overdrive, making her unduly anxious before she even knew what she had to be anxious about!

It was enough to make a fellow break out in a cold sweat.

Feeling his face was broadcasting far too much information, Wyeth turned in what he hoped was a casual manner, ostensibly looking off in the direction of the arena. "I hope you're feeling well this evening, Mother." When in doubt, small talk for the win! A testament to his mother's hand in his upbringing, Wyeth was a master of light, trifling conversation; this trait tended to appear in spades when he was nervous.

The guilt and preoccupation in Wyeth's mind had convinced him Elizabeth would be on to him in moments, but he had held out hope that even if that were true, her natural delicacy and abhorrence of 'nosing' would prevent her from asking any questions of him. He had failed to count on her maternal instincts trumping that delicacy, and now he found himself in a delicate situation, indeed!

He could never lie to his mother. It was wrong on many levels, and would be showing her disrespect she could never deserve. At the same time, it was not his place to tell his mother such significant news, and even if it was, he didn't want to! Such news could only be upsetting, and she wouldn't want to even consider any of the family being in danger. To say nothing of what she would think of his contemplation about actually going out to be part of a team that saw the Kalona...

No, it was his father's place to tell his mother. But he would not lie to her, all the same, and he sighed as he turned back to Elizabeth. "I myself am fine for the time being, Mother, but it wouldn't be truthful to say everything is alright. It's not my place to speak on the subject any further, but I have to confess I'm feeling very...unsettled at the moment." He shook his head, looking at his hooves to avoid any eye contact. "I apologize for coming here and alarming you like this, it was very careless of me."

Ambroise had stayed behind to discuss the finer details of the plan of course, in addition he had waited for those who had made an immediate decision to let him know where they would be and when. Suffice it to say that he hadn't been disappointed by the 'enthusiasm' of his fellow herd mates, as none had cowered at the prospect of danger. Nevertheless they had all appreciated the necessity for further information first and as a consequence, the protection of their two spies and eventually, a possible infiltrator, was paramount.

Alas, with his discussions over it hadn't been long before Ambroise had also descended from the summit. While he had done a quick flyby of a patrol, he had come to the conclusion that it was for the best that he return home as a matter of course. After all, he had noted the silence of his son, more importantly, he had noted the apprehension on his heir's face and the glimmer of doubt in his eyes. Ah, but Wyeth was frightened and why shouldn't he be? There were those who had never faced real combat and he was most assuredly one of them.

With phenomenal timing as always, Ambroise had chosen to descend right at the moment his mate was demanding his whereabouts. With a muffled 'clop' of hooves, he released a sigh and strode towards the pair. Eyebrow raised, he furled his wings to the side and cleared his throat to alert his mate and his son to his presence before he finally elected to speak.

"I am right here, Elizabeth."

A flicker of surprise crept across the stallion's features, but no sooner had it arrived than it was gone. He afforded his son a quick glance, then returned his attention to his mate. Evidently she had assumed the worst, though given the impenetrable state of the summit, it was safe to say that for the time being they were all perfectly sheltered for the oncoming storm. Admittedly it was open to debate as to whether it would be for long or not, but this relied solely on the information that Azelle, Tut and Suppression managed to acquire through espionage and infiltration. In two days time they would know for sure, and once that information was received, Ambroise and Sylph would issue orders that would impact the entirety of the summit...he only hoped it wasn't a declaration of war.

"One would think there had been an accident," he observed as he regarded both of his family and then promptly shook his head. "The issues that Wyeth is hesitant to discuss are not in regards to Raines, to my knowledge he continues to wander the valleys unharmed," he reassured Elizabeth. He was well aware of her affection for Raines, even if his did not extend quite so far to what he regarded as a slight disappointment... Suffice it to say that his songbird of a son was much too similar to Feng for comfort.

...And his brother was a noted troublemaker.

Nevertheless, that wasn't something that he was going to rant about for long. "However the matter in question would easily have been addressed by you," he regarded Wyeth for a few moments and shook his head slowly. "You are heir, you have every right to discuss these matters," he pointed out before taking a deep breath and gathering his thoughts. Perhaps Wyeth simply wasn't ready or prepared to address those close to him with bad or uncomfortable news at present.

"However I will be the bearer of bad news on this occasion," he mused and released a sigh. "There is an extremely large kalona herd amassing to the south; we don't know the purpose of their arrival or what their intentions might be - but given the sheer number in the herd and the very basic nature of kalona..." he shook his head again and grimaced. "It's highly unlikely their here to share tea," he stated.

"With that in mind a strike force from the summit is to descend into the valley to assess the situation; if these kalona are deemed a threat then it is not unlikely we will enter a state of war."

"Everyone has to learn at some point, Wyeth," Ambroise pointed out and smoothly dismissed the issue for the time being. If Wyeth was having a severe issue with his confidence then it would have to be a discussion that was not had in the presence of Elizabeth. Suffice it to say that while he had grown to love the mare, when it came to their son's pride it needed to be dealt with privately - if it had to deal with his confidence in combat, she definitely couldn't there. She would coddle him, she would lull him into a false sense of security and it would all go wrong from there...

Nevertheless he returned his attention to his mate as she spoke, slowly shaking his head as she vocalised her desire to provide assistance. If there was one thing he was not going to allow, it was to allow others to be in needless danger. He wouldn't have any arguments regarding it either, there were no discussions and no negotiations - she would stay put, just like everyone else.

"I would request that you watch for refugees and assist with healing any of the guards watching the borders if they should become injured," he replied and cleared his throat. "We have already collapsed the valley gates, there is no entry to the Summit from the valley," he continued. Sucking in a breath her then closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his wing. "If we are to receive any, they will come through the Desert Arch and many will likely be dehydrated, over heated and exceptionally distressed."

"They will need help and our guards do not have the time to provide it."

"Obviously, until we begin to receive those influx of refugees or the injured, there will no doubt be other things to do," Ambroise agreed and glanced up towards the higher peaks where his own father was no doubt informing his mother and siblings about the upcoming mission. He had no doubt that his mother would guard the remaining girls with ferocity and ensure they were put to use in some form or another; after all his mother had seen the first skinwalker incursion, if she could handle that, then she could handle a Kalona one too. Alas, whether or not Yei would provide guidance in regards to what the remaining mares and stallions on the summit remained to be seen.

...After all, not all of the stallions were guards or scouts.

"I have no doubt that my mother and Bella will be able to provide ample guidance as to what else is required in many respects, they are wizened enough to know," he added. Nevertheless when his son cut in, he turned his gaze towards him and nodded briefly, before providing Elizabeth with a smile, all-be-it a tense one. "Excuse me," he murmured, and with that, moved to follow his son off to the side. Whatever was troubling Wyeth needed to be addressed sooner or later, otherwise it may be too late!

"Wyeth," he murmured and lifted a brow. "You are hesitating," he stated.

A pause followed.

"What's wrong?"