He grunts a little, unsure at first of how to describe the Lagoon's unique... odor. "Umm..." he blinks, considering his answer, trying to find the right things to say to her. "I've never really had to describe it before. But I'd have to say... it smells like mud and damp moss and testosterone. Sometimes, if the breeze is just right, it smells like saltwater and wet sand. The beach smells sometimes, especially at low tide. A lot of newcomers don't like it, at first, but it's something they usually get used to quickly." He tosses his head, trying to get a particularly annoying piece of hair from his face. He's thankful when she doesn't push the topic of his family; he loves his mother (and his father, though he would never admit it out loud), but he can only handle so much of them before he finds himself in desperate need of an escape. He wonders if she, too, had felt herself needing some time away when she was sent off, or if she had been ripped from her home - uprooted like a pesky weed and thrown into the wind.

She asks about going to his home, and he sighs gently to himself, considering his options. He could take her there. She might not like it. But she didn't have to stay - he certainly wouldn't force her. But if she did stay? He knows she will have to leave eventually, and if she is looking for a permanent home, she won't find it with him. He brushes off how wrong it feels to trick her - if it can be considered tricking. "Yes, we can go there, if you'd like." He says, lips quirking upwards into a ghost of a smile. "Maybe you'll like it. You're welcome to stay if you do." He fails to tell her she can only stay until the end of summer - they'll cross that bridge when they get to it. For now, it seems to him that she is eager to be taken away somewhere - anywhere, really, and he's more than happy to oblige her. "Follow me, if you will." With that, he turns and heads down the path from which he came, following his scent back to the Lagoon, back to his boring life, the same thing he was trying to escape when he came here. Perhaps having Neve around could alleviate some of his suffering.

They travel in silence, mostly - he pauses every now and again to give her a chance to rest, inquire more about her, and then he ventures onwards. The air warms and the snow fades from sight as they head further and further south. By the time they reach the Lagoon's borders, the sun has begun to set. He pauses once more, turning his head to regard her over his shoulder with his good eye. "Are you sure?" That annoying little voice in the back of his mind reminds him of how badly things ended for him last time he brought a woman home. If that happened again, father would surely kick him out. Not only would he be a disgrace, he would have nowhere to go - after all, who would want to take in a blind, useless colt?

---

their hungry thirsty roots?

yearling. georgian grande mutt. bay tobiano
of the lagoon. blind. felony x zhenya. pippa.