Hoshor Plains And I see fire, blood in the breeze,

The longer the joke went on, the more Riley's feelings got hurt.

First it was funny, seeing Orlaith's eyes widen, the way she swept her gaze over him. After a few seconds that shock turned into something else -- was it revulsion? Riley felt his stomach flip.

Orlaith didn't want to believe it. Why? What was wrong with the yearling? He knew he wasn't ugly (well, maybe his one off-kilter eye was ugly), so what was the big deal? Why did every woman look at him with some species of disgust?

Riley's confidence did the equivalent of a spider curling in on itself, death-style. He huffed through his nose and looked away, clearly stung.

"I'm joking." He conceded, his tone short. It was just his luck that his joke would backfire on him and hurt his feelings in the process.