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Kale drank deeply from the cool liquid of the lake, enjoying the sensation of it soothing his parched throat. He had just gone for a run--no sense in allowing himself to fall out of shape simply because he was both getting older and becoming the dreaded word of "grandpa". Ach, he didn't want to think about it, no matter how pleased he was with his daughter and her new family.

....He was allowed to be selfish in his private thoughts.

A sigh as he looked into the mirror-like surface of the water. He didn't look that old. He hadn't been very old when he and Marina had had the children, and he wasn't very old now. Don't get Kale wrong, he wasn't the type of stallion to really care about how he looked, it was just the shock of the prospect of becoming a word he hadn't thought to ever encounter with his daughter that had thrown him for a bit of a loop. Yow.

Imgaine if he'd ever found another mare--no, Marina had been his love and now she was gone. He'd never have anyone else and he should resign himself to that fact.

A splash caught his attention, flipping his mind to this new interruption to his inner state of...distress, one could say?

His head lifted, ears perked upright in attention. Just because the sound was small and barely attention-seizing did not mean he wasn't going to see what it was. What fighter there was in Kale liked to show up from time to time.

Green eyes searched and found the form that had clearly ccreated the sound--there was nothing else in the area that could do something as that. It was a mare as well, one that seemed...he couldn't tell very well from this distance.

Deciding to both satisify his curiosity and be a polite person, he turned and began walking toward the mare, shaking out his braided mane absently as he trotted toward the off-white and slightly larger than the typical mare he wondered if there was something in the water. First his daughter and now, just perhaps...this one.

Kale paused a half-dozen or so steps away from her, "Hello, Lovey," He greeted pleasantly, smiling kindly and using the name she had said so herself that she had preferred, "I'm Kale." He bobbed his head in a polite greeting.

Up close, he could clearly see two things. One, she had been the one to making that splashing sound--not that it was very important. Two, she was clearly--at least to him--just beginning to show the belly of an expectant mother. Kale should kow what that would look like. Both Marina and Azariel had and were showing the exact same signs.

"And how are you today, Lovey?" He asked politely, silently trying to figure out if the mare knew about her ondition...and if it would be appropriate to speak of it. He didn't want to experience pain today.

Kale nodded once and tilted his head to the side slightly, in mild confusion and curiosity. Hadn't Azariel mentioned something about meeting a white mare with an absolutely massive amount of mane? It had only been in passing as she'd talked to him and Kale hadn't really remembered it well--now that he thought about it, this might not even be the mare--but her name and appearance sounded similar enough.

"That should be expected, of course," He replied softly, nodding once, "But I am fine myself. Just out to get some air this morning, I should be visiting my daughter last this week if she'll let me." A lopsided grin graced his features. She was a tempermental one.

He should be careful to tread lightly, pregnant mares weren't known for being entirely...sane.

Kale blinked in surprise and managed a smile, "Ah, I was hoping I wasn't crazy," He admitted, finally, "My daughter spoke of someone like you when she was younger but I couldn't decide whether or not to ask you." He shrugged helplessly, "I can't say we've met personally before," He told her, pondering.

"My daughter? Her name is Azariel, have you met her?" Perhaps that was the answer, then? If he looked similar to his daughter (and he did), than perhaps she was comparing him to her? They looked exactly the same except for a few key details. He stopped and mulled over his options for a moment. He could lie but, that would hardly be a good thing at all.

"I'm old enough that I'll soon be a grandfather," He admitted softly, accompanying his statement with a sigh, "I did warn that stallion, but they obviously didn't listen." The last statement was more to himself than anyone else.

He gave her a gentle smile, "It's quite alright, Lovey," He assured her gently, "Perhaps it's because your body is still getting used to things?" Best to assure her of matters if she was a new mother.

"Ah, so that must be where the resemblence lies," He confirmed, bobbing his head once. It did make a lot more sense now. The recognition that they had both felt toward the other was simply due to the fact that they shared a common thread to the other. Kale's daughter, Az. Hmm, a bit ironic and coincidental, no?

A resigned sigh left him, "Indeed I will be, not for several months but..." He shrugged helplessly, giving her a lopsided grin, "I've decided to be defiant and refuse to accept it with grace." He wasn't old, not at all. He still felt as young as a yearling...most of the time.

"Hmm?" He canted his his to the side, curious, "Indeed, I believe that's him. Varying shades of green with clovers and shamrocks decorating the entirty of it?" He wanted to make sure this was the same Caelen they were discussing. This was becoming a rather...interesting conversation.

Why did the tone in her voice make him want to step back? This mare couldn't be that naive, could she? Had she really not realized her current situation...?

"Well, you would..." He began, unsure of how to continue without upsetting anyone, "Perhaps your body needs to become used to the fact that your body is currently adjusting to the fact that you are pregnant...?"

The mare surprised a chuckle out of the older stallion, "'Cranky grandpa'?" He repeated amused by the phrase. Kale couldn't have been grumpy even if he had been older and acknowledge his existence as a grandfather. It wasn't his nature.

Kale nodded once to confirm, "That'd be him." A sigh, "It seems we have a bit more in common than first thought, yes?" Was the world becoming smaller by the day, or was Kale just hanging around the area for far too long for his own good?

Well, at least she wasn't flying off the wall with hysterics? Kale wasn't sure he could handle a massive amount of hormones from someone he hardly knew well at all. Her explaination peaked his curiosity a bit, "From the way you are speaking," He raised an eyebrow, "I'm assuming that you are indeed not life-mated or even mated with the father?" A pity and sadly, such situations seemed to becoming a bit more...common lately.

"A cranky old grandpa is something that I would never be able to accomplish," He said with a sigh, "Just ask anyone I've met and they can tell you that." Especially my own children. He added slightly with a hint of amusement.

"I'm gld to hear he wasn't only coming back to her because he felt he had an obligation," He replied smoothing, nodding his head once, "I'm not sure how Az would have dealt with such." An inward sigh, she'd have skinned him alive.

Well, her explanation was a good thing to hear. At least the children wouldn't suffer too much from lack of a parent. Unlike his own. A mental shake of his head; it wasn't his fault his mate had left him for something or someone else. He had to move on.

"I hope you're prepared for what Azariel and Caelen's children will be like," He warned, a smile twisting his features, "I doubt they'll be quiet and shy." With both of their parent's personalities to back them? That type was impossible.