Romek did not like recruiting.

It would not be too far of a stretch to say that he hated it. Yet here he was, looking horribly out of place. He would rather be in the deep cool hands of his forest, and yet…

He has heard rumours. Whispers on the wind, as it were, this his black and yellow daughter has been seen around here recently. And, while he certainly respects her right to choose her own path, she had never actually said no to Taiga, and if she was here, looking for a home, it would be only fair to consider Taiga equally amongst the others. In truth, he did not want her to leave. He remembers the one he had lost, long ago. He had searched and searched for her, to no avail. He did not want that to happen to Arete too.

But of course, the well laid plans of mice and all that… He happened to stumble across a mare, not overly remarkable of itself, but there was a stallion, too, a pushy-looking one, with shifty bits that reminded him of his own sire. A relation, perhaps – his sire’s side of the family tree was littered with the shapeless, and equally littered with shapeshifters on his dam’s side. Remaining static was not a familial trait.

He has half a mind to just walk on, carry looking for his daughter but – another mare approaches, he recognises her as a Taigan. He doesn’t really pay attention until she makes reference to Ruan and he lifts his head from the grass he was eating, chewing thoughtfully as he wanders up to the trio. By the time he has reached them, the Taigan has truly put her hoof in her mouth, embarrassing herself and her father, and Romek shakes his head.

”Shut up.”

He offers a sort of smile to the other two, though how can he mean it? The stallion was trying to force the mare into decisions she might not want and the mare seemed…grateful for it? Well, there were all sorts.

”My name is Romek. I’m afraid I didn’t catch both your names.” He settles down lazily and awaits their replies.

The mare offers some kind of retort, but this receives no reaction from the spotted stallion other than a barely-raised brow. She introduces herself as Bella-Mae, speaks about her mummy issues, a subject the stallion was rather well-acquainted with, although it seems like a lifetime and a half ago that that had all happened; and he felt like it held little to no relevance to who he is today.

The sun is setting, and it is growing markedly colder – but he is in no particular rush to get home. The dusk and the night-time belonged to him, him and all the Taigans, horses who were more claw and fang than they were hoof and etiquette. Of course, they had no set critera for joining – but it certainly seemed to attract the untameable, the wild, the free.

She mentions that she wants to get out of the wind, somewhere safe before nightfall and predator-call, and Romek rolls his shoulders. Not for Taiga, then. He hadn’t really been intending to recruit her anyway, so he felt no real loss or disappointment. He had only joined conversation to ensure that she had a choice in who she left with; but she doesn't seem to appreciate it, or even understand it. He has been polite, always a difficult feat to manage these days for himself, so he decides he now owes her nothing, and that she ought to be getting along home with the stallion who actually wanted her.

”Fancied a laugh.” he replies boredly, tilting his head as she examines herself (because, of course, why wouldn’t she?). Romek doesn’t understand the appeal – she’s brown and white, nothing particularly amazing or notable for Beqanna, but he supposes someone needs to think highly of her – why not herself? Perhaps if she had been a little more polite, a little more courteous, or god forbid, even grateful for Romek or even Heda coming in and giving her a choice in the matter of where she ends up… Perhaps he would’ve minced his words a bit. Perhaps he would’ve sugar coated it, or been nicer.

But no.

He leaves, without fanfare or goodbyes.