The stranger greeted her with a foreign word, and Ava tilted her head at him in interest. The tongue sounded familiar to the one that Orhan had used in their first meeting, but she did not know it well enough to identify whether it was indeed the same language. Either way she was intrigued, though she could see it was not the right time to ask questions. “It’s nice to meet you, Yusuf,” she replied brightly, reassured by his polite and gentle greeting. Perhaps he would not be some vicious intruder after all, or at least so she could hope. There was a long moment of silence then, where Ava watched her new companion as he seemed to drift off into contemplation for a minute before pulling his attention back to the present. When he did, he had both an apology and a question. Ava accepted the former with a soft smile and a bob of her head – although he could not see it – and at the mention of the latter she turned her head in the direction of the oasis a little way away. She hesitate for a second. Yusuf was still a stranger to her, and she didn’t know whether he was welcome in the Desert or not. She didn’t want to get into any trouble with Orhan or the rest of the herd before she had even gotten the chance to get to know them properly, but at the same time she did not have a heart hard enough to turn away another horse that looked so worn and weary. It would not be her to refuse to help. “Of course,” she said, trying to push away the doubt in her mind. “Follow me.” She took a step forward, walking past him closely so that he could get a sense of where she was before she turned to lead him in the right direction. She moved slowly, taking her time down the gentle slope of sand, careful not to risk losing her companion. They were both quiet until they reached the oasis, where Ava paused at the water’s edge. “Here,” she said, and lowered her own nose to drink while she waited for Yusuf to take his own fill as well. When they were both finished, she returned her attention to the stallion. “So are you a friend of Orhan’s?” she asked, curious. |