Toulouse trotted down the unkept pathway. He was unsure what the future held, but he was more excited than afraid. Resentment growing stronger and stronger with each step he took from his childhood home. The conversation replayed in his head.

-----

"Louse, when are you going to step up and fulfill your family duties? You've played pretend-knight long enough!", his brother shouted at him, ears pinned back, teeth bared. Toulouse rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. 

"Brother. I am not father's firstborn son. Those are YOUR responsibilities, not mine! I have no interest in settling down somewhere here in Honmar with some other Courser. I wish to visit the Dungeon! I want to see the things others have written down and shared for myself! I can't do that here! You want to be the next Duke of Honmar? BE MY GUEST!", Toulouse spat at his brother.

"Fine Toulouse. You wish to live this life outside of what was planned for you? Fine. But you won't do it here. I will not sit idily by and let you piss away your responsibilities and your life. Father would be beyond livid with you if he were still here. Did you ever consider him? He WANTED you to fulfil these duties! He set these things up FOR YOU! And yet you choose to be ungrateful! You choose to wish for this wistful life!", his brother spat back.

Toulouse took a deep breath. He looked around his family home, the only one he'd ever known. His brother knew he'd strike a nerve my mentioning their father. Toulouse narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"Fine. I will leave. You have NO right to speak of father before me. It is YOUR fault and you know it. Father always told me to do what felt right to me. And this urge, this calling, that I have, I must answer it. I'm terribly sorry brother that you do not know nor understand such a thing. Perhaps one day you will and you will finally understand my stance in this matter.", Toulouse replied angrily to his brother. 

"You've made your choice then brother. A damn shameful one, but you've made it. Leave! Do not darken the doors of Honmar Hall again, so long as I live. Maybe when I'm dead and gone, you'll have chased your childhood obsessions and are ready to be what you were supposed to be! GO, GET OUT!", Toulouse's brother shouted.

Toulouse exited the room, narrowing his eyes yet again at his brother. His brother shoved him with his chest as he passed by. Toulouse turned his head, ears flat against his neck. His brother jumped back, and watched as he left. Toulouse spent a few moments gathering his favored personal items, shoving them into his pack, before exiting the doors of Honmar Hall. 

-----

A rustle in the bushes pulled him from his thoughts. His head snapped into the direction the noise came from. The source was a small hare, scurring off into the treeline. Toulouse shook his head and continued forward. After what felt like hours of trekking, he saw a small wooden sign with the word "Fontaine" chipped into it. A sigh of relief left Louse's mouth. He had made it to where he wished to be. A new, small, town where no one would bother him. 

He pressed forward, eyes piercing towards any Courser that looked upon him. "Of course. They know who I am.", he thought to himself. He made his way through the town, the Surface's sun casting its rays upon him. The rays caught his pops of copper and shiny hooves, making him appear a bit more flashy than usual. Toulouse loved it. 

He reached the council building for the town of Fontaine, and passed through its doors. He was greeted by a friendly receptionist standing at a desk. 

"Ahem, excuse me! May I help you?", the Courser called out.

Toulouse rolled his eyes and approached the desk, pulling a sack of coins and jewels from his pack. He slung the sack on the desk.

"Yeah. Show me what house this will buy me.", he replied rather coldly. Annoyance growing ever present in his expression.

The receptionist peeked inside the bag. Her eyes grew wide. It registered with her who the horse before her was.

"Lord Toulouse, I-", she started. 

"JUST Toulouse. Please. No need to apologize. Just show me a house. I'm tired and wish to rest in the walls of something I can call my own.", he explained.

The receptionist nodded, and showed him a map of available homes. Toulouse picked one from the map and completed the paperwork. He thanked the receptionist and went about his way. Content to have his own place, away from his brother, his family, and the tragedy that befell his father. 

As Toulouse stepped through the doors of his new home, he made note of things he wished to improve. It seemed as though the home had sat vacant for quite some time. He meandered through the various rooms. A crack of thunder was heard, bringing Toulouse to look from the ivy-covered windows. He watched the rain for a moment before gazing across the rest of the room. Between the two picturesque windows, a portrait was hung in a golden ornate frame. Toulouse couldn't help but wonder what happened to the previous inhabitants, and who was in the portrait that hung in his new home.