“Natural, like... normal. Something fit for a horse to live in,” Şahin said, to elaborate on his earlier statement. He wondered if previous herds had spent much time in the jungle and what their opinion of it was, but when the mare agreed to walk down the beach with him he turned his body and his thoughts away from the jungle and in the direction he thought his herd lay. It was difficult for him to know, exactly, given how lost he’d gotten while exploring the bug-infested wilderness, but he struck out with confidence. The islands would eventually bring them back to the flat, rolling hills of Paradise and its shady palm trees. It was just a question of whether they were taking the short or long route.

The blanketed palomino glanced over at his companion as they walked. “I’m Şahin, by the way.” he said with an easy smile. It felt good to be in the open air and he closed his eyes to slits when the wind blew in off the ocean, carrying with it the smells of salt and fish and damp. He blinked after a particularly powerful gust and glanced over at the mare again. “Where’d you wash up from? Or have you come here intentionally?” The latter wasn’t likely but hey, there was a first time for everything. Just because almost everyone who lived in Paradise had come to the island by chance (as opposed to in response to an invitation from him) didn’t mean that this mare was here on accident.