we built this city on broken glass

It was a difficult thing to restrain those more pressing instincts of his nature. Frost hardly inclined to take well to that subtly offered threat so administered by the Liger boy and yet the boy was merely that- a boy. One who knew little of the world beyond that sheltered life he lived here. He had never seen true fighting, he had likely never been called to protect a sibling from the very sort of threat that might eliminate him in turn or watch those around him be shot down in a hail of gunfire that roared so loudly it was near deafening. Deafening and defeating all at once. Perhaps he should be near envious of this boy, who spoke a man's words and yet hardly understood the true intent behind them- because he had never had too. Was that not the very life Nadya wanted for her own children in turn? One far different from that Frost himself had led. The stallion working to quell those irritable instincts that tugged at him. He would not be that thing they made him. Not today. Not in front of Nadya's very family when he required their approval all the same.

Frost at last allowed his grip to ease and offer that returned handshake before asking after that species. The elder boy quick to answer that question and offer an explanation in turn. The pair of them hybrids, it seemed. A cross of a lion and a tiger and yet how curious it was that the tiger might be their small, demure mother. The tiger by far the superior animal to the lion and yet Frost said nothing of such internal consideration, his lip quirking ever so vaguely at a very different idea that turned within his thoughts. It would be a curious thing to see how such hybrids might compare to their pure cousins. Their size, as Nadya said, was indeed incredible and yet Frost suspected they were far slower then Nadya or Tetradore. Far less graceful and adapt to navigating the branches of trees- if they could do it at all. The war horse near suspecting the pair, for all their power and strength- would succeed at little other then a direct charge and assault, hampered by their heavy forms though surely deadly at close range sprint. A cross with something lighter perhaps might achieve better results. Such thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Nadya's insistence she had once been terrified of them and their size. This, it seemed, the very reason behind that affectionate nickname. Frost so allowing that ghost of a smile to find his features more noticeably for the first time.

"Size isn't everything."

He offered simply, one eye lifting slightly, the words very near gently goading of both those brothers and perhaps representative of Nadya and himself in turn. Neither of them truly sizeable in their human forms in the very least. Frost allowing that soft chuckle to hum within his throat in turn at such a rarely offered tease of sorts (he was trying) before that shout for lunch saw the younger men all but barrell into the house. How very....carnivore of them. The scent of that meat already clear in the air as his own hand reached to gently catch Nadya's own and draw her attention toward him. That afternoon had, so far, not been...terrible and yet that delicate balance existed still. Frost querying after the knowledge her family held off his eating habits. Nadya, it seemed, not yet having managed to inform them of such a thing. Frost sighing softly in return. Such a dietary choice, he suspected, would not go over terribly well and yet it was hardly his choice in any sense. He had simply been created as such. Nadya's insistence they could go met with a simple shake of his head.

"It is fine. I am sure they will have bread or a side salad I can make do with. They already blame me for your hair, I am sure. They may not enjoy my stealing you away from family brunch. Besides, your family intrigues me. I am not used to family things."

He so hardly had to explain why. His very lack of any true family outside his Mother was well known and while surely his Father and an incredible multitude of siblings existed it was hardly as if they were permitted to enjoy sunday brunches with one another. The word 'brunch' in fact had been all but foreign to him until a year or so ago. Still, he offered that compliment off them all the same, Nadya insisting they had her best interests in mind. Frost not un-inclined to disagree and yet family or otherwise those more protective, possessive instincts had been well coaxed, Frost tugging Nadya gently against him if only to let his lips find her own in that stolen kiss. One that assured her of exactly where and to whom she surely belonged. Frost hardly caring to explain that very gesture or the singular satisfaction it brought him. Nadya most assuredly...his. Even if he was so required to share her for today. Still, that very closeness so prompted that return to another topic. Frost shifting but slightly to step behind her, his arms looping easily bout her waist in a rare gesture of affection- that stallion, slowly, becoming more comfortable with those touches and offering them in turn. His head rested on her shoulder then, those uttered, accented words softly spoken as nadya leaned into him. Her arms draping across his own in a manner he enjoyed. That matter of families, it seemed, needed to be addressed.

He could hardly blame his girlfriend for believing otherwise of their ability to procreate. Children of mixed species parents were rare, not only because it was unusual to take a mate so far outside ones species but too- the children of such unions were not as readily created. To have a child of their own would require a rather deliberate effort and a greater amount of time and frequency between those sheets. Frost hardly inclined to complain about such a thing in any sense. Nadya had produced children before, just as he had sired them- leaving no doubt as to the capabilities of either of them in such an area. They merely required a greater, purposeful effort to those already 'unprotected' moments they shared. Frost hardly inclined to allow Nadya to believe such a thing was impossible when he knew otherwise. Her arms gripped his own more tightly in that moment, Frost smiling softly against the skin of her neck as his lips pressed to it in that teasing flutter of kisses. Nadya relaxing more readily in that embrace before commenting on that research.

"I will find it for you when we return from Iceland."

If they returned at all. The talk of families one that was perhaps almost pointless to have until they had come home. The equines grip tightening just a little upon his girlfriend then before offering that suggestion that they should surely head inside. Nadya readily agreeing as her lips pressed to his cheek and Frost allowed himself to be led inside and toward that already bustling table. Nadya's insistence that they had to get on the road was rapidly brushed off by her Mother. Frost eyeing that meat with disdain as nadya lent forward to whisper something to Cynthia. The stallion near bracing himself for whatever ridicule he suspected might come his way. Frost almost pleasantly...surprised at the gentle pat Nadya's arm was given before Cynthia hurried into the kitchen only to return with a bowl of fruit salad. How...unusual. The woman far more....accommodating then he had anticipated. His violet gaze lingering on Cynthia with a renewed curiosity as she attempted to encourage her own sons to eat something other than meat. Frost nodding to Nadya's words as he moved to take his own seat at that table. He would rather have headed back to the car and yet even he was unwilling to afford such disrespect to the family when the Mother, at least, had offered him food.

Frost reached easily for that fruit then, adding it to his own plate as the rest of the men at that table seemed all but content to glower at him. As if the consumption of meat somehow made a man, a man. As if it were somehow a more superior food. Predators, by nature, forever seeming to hold that opinion and yet how many predators had he put down over the years? Hmmm. The thought was almost satisfying. Frost was stirred from those darker considerations by Robert's sudden demand to know what was wrong with their food. The equine glancing up from his own plate then, his violet gaze peering out from beneath that strange snowy hair to meet the man's own. Frost readily debating those words within his mind. The stallion rarely caring to hide what he ate from those around him, the man often stating it as bluntly as he did near everything else and yet this was a different situation altogether. Still- they were likely to notice that the only thing on his plate was fruit and salad at some point. Those cool, smooth lyrics echoing from him then.

"There is nothing wrong with your food. I do not eat very much meat."

It was, perhaps, a more acceptable response then admitting to outright vegetarianism. Frost unsure of how much further the man might push him on it. The war horse ready all the same. Frost hardly caring whether or not they wished to stare at him all day. Let them. His gaze instead shifting to Nadya if only to assure himself she had taken enough food before glancing back toward Robert.

"Is this the entirety of your pack?"

Some packs, after all, were made up of families alone. Some of several families, others of singular individuals. Frost holding some curiosity for the people Nadya ha grown up with.

FrosT