Movement in the distance sent El Aran’s already thrumming nerves skyrocketing with adrenaline. She had forgotten about this, because the first time she had come to these Islands she had been so focused on finding her Goddess’s shrine that the petty wars of mortals seemed insignificant. This Desert was so similar to home that her body reacted to everything as if she were still in constant danger. The only thing to have ever threatened her way of life in this Desert were the stallions who arrived but never stayed, males who thought themselves superior solely due to their sex. Males who had not been able to accept the challenge of the Desert and the mare who called it her own.
All of these thoughts flitted through her mind, one after the other, as the horse on the horizon drew closer and then finally came to a stop in the oasis. He was close to her, but she did not see an aggressive cant to his ears or agitation in the way he held his head. The black mare, on the other hand, could feel how taut her own body was, and she reminded herself to keep her ears up until she had reason to stop listening to this stranger and drive him away from her. She did not like the intensity of his breathing, but when he stepped toward her the seer held her ground.
His fur had an odd quality to it, one she had never seen before: it curled. All of it, even his mane and tail, was kinked and coiled. When he spoke, he sounded like Chua. There was a certain animalistic quality to his words and cadence that went beyond the fact that he was, indeed, an animal. He almost sounded primal, and she almost took comfort in the familiar way of speaking. The word “pack” unsettled her, and El Aran let her ears turn back for a brief moment before she pushed them forward.
"This is my Desert," she told him, and despite how carefully she enunciated her accent was still audible in her throaty vowels and clipped consonants. She held his gaze, neither challenging him nor submitting to him. These Islands might dictate that only a male could claim a territory, but there had been no horse in the Desert longer than El Aran. This land was her home, and she would not be removed from it. "Have you come to protect this herd?" she asked. The well-being of the herd was the highest priority, even if there were only one or two horses who banded together and called this land home.
el aran
Seer of Aşk. |