Khoi was a large stallion, that much was for sure. And he knew his brother was just as large. But he had never in his life met a stallion as large as the horned one who kept vigil at his side. Ellyas, or, Torment as he liked to be called, was absolutely massive. He easily towered over Khoi, and the rabbit-like stallion had to acclimate to the fact that he wasn't the biggest thing in the area. As a matter of fact, he wasn't the first one to be spotted!
Now, the problem here was that he hadn't exactly told Torment who or what he was looking for. Only that he was looking for someone. His brother looked almost identical to him, except for...well, their colors. It was funny, most who met the two together wouldn't believe they had the exact same parents...and their parents looked nothing like they did! Genetics sure were weird.
But he trusted Torment. The stallion had proven to be an attentive listener, didn't talk much, and seemed to take his job as a protector seriously. Surely he would know what to look for in the end?
Torment, on the other paw, was on high alert. He'd had a run-in recently with a shifter. Not that he was blaming his new friend, but Khoi and the shifter shared some....similarities. It was the Lapine ears, and though Torment's were also fairly long, they didn't have the same...upright quality.
So, while Khoi was at his side, Torment was fairly confident that he could sus out anything that looked like a shifter...that wasn't his new friend. Anything Lapine was suspect, but he wasn't making moves to maul random rabbits that crossed their paths. At least, not the ones that managed to 'look' real in a way. Granted, to Torment, 'looking real' meant that the rabbits didn't move the wrong way in his eyes. And, quite honestly, he hadn't a damn clue how rabbits were supposed to move naturally. And he just...Well, as much as he didn't enjoy violence, he had been hired to help Khoi look for something.
What that something was, he didn't know. Maybe shiftly rabbits? Much like the one he'd just spooked awat? Surely rabbits that were secretly shifters wouldn'r run in fear of him that easily, him just approaching them? So, the ones that din't imediately run were suspect, and he found it easier to not wonder, but simply snap their necks. It was a kind send-off, and the carcasses would be food for any scavengers that could pass by. They wouldn't go to waste, and even better if they were a shifter who had caused harm to others.
However, it had already been three days on the road, searching the lands for whatever or whoever it was Khoi was searching for. Torment considered himself a patient stallion (barring any and all patience he definitely did NOT have for a certain younger stallion who seemed to think he had the right to hang around with his precious first daughter...) but this was getting ridiculous. He knew he saw Khoi looking around, looking for...whatever it was he was looking for, but it had been so long it felt like it was going to take forever.
Just when Torment thought he was going to have to ask Khoi for some clarification, the smaller stallion beside him stopped dead in his tracks, ears perked and alert.
In their path, shadowed, was a large figure. Potentially another Soquili. But it had upright...lapine...ears. Lapine tail....
Before Khoi could say anything, Torment stood between his charge and the shape...thing, fangs bared and space-like vapor around him flaring up. Surely THIS Was the shifter? He was ready to fight, ready to rid this world of yet another evil that surely preyed upon others...And he was fuly expecting the supposed shifter to race towards them, as he had experienced before.
The way the supposed shifter hesitated was enough for Torment to pause, and for Khoi to finally speak up!
"Brother!" The dappled grey stallion called out, stepping around Torment to happily approach the Shaped Shadow.
"...Khoi?" Came a voice that was similar to the dappled grey's, but somewhat more ragged. "Brother? Brother, where in the world..."
Tilting his head just enough, Torment could see the resemblance between the two, though the coloration of their coats was completely different.
"I've been looking everywhere!" Khoi exclaimed, all but bouncing up to his brother with almost unbridled happiness.
The vapor surrounding Torment's body started to lessen as he breathed a sigh of relief...The Shape wasn't a shifter after all, and he had almost made a grave error. Thankfully, his hesitance and willingness to give others a chance...Now a family was back together.
Maybe one day, he'd have his true daughters back with him, too.
