El Aran stood stiffly before her herd mate and kept hr steady gaze on the sorrel mare’s face to gauge Vesti’s reaction to all she had said. It was a lot of information, and much of it was steeped in the seer’s personal life. She had not even shared so much with her son, Orhan, in all the years they had lived in the Desert together, and perhaps it had been wrong of her to keep so much from him. Surely his actions recently had stemmed from the ignorance she had unwittingly imposed upon him, and not through any conscious will to defy her.

The black mare’s ears twitched when Vesti spoke, but she relaxed as the other mare described the stranger. It was not an Arabian El Aran knew personally, and that eased one of her fears. The stranger was likely still dangerous but not as immediately as, say, the bloody-shouldered mare from her homeland. "Thank you, Vesti," she said, and dipped her nose in a shallow but appreciative nod. "I’ve no quarrel with any other breeds, only those who hail from my desert and prefer anyone of mixed bloodlines dead instead of breathing. I know we will resist our enemies with you at my back." The black mare shifted her attention to the horizon once more and uttered a low snort. "I go to patrol our borders. Be wary, Vesti. I will see you here again." With another nod, El Aran turned and trotted out of the shady oasis and across the sun-soaked sands of their home.