“Yes, I do,” he answered her, thinking of the days when Tinuvel would be dark and overcast with no reprieve from the chill that the tundra was best known for. The months of winter would always seem the longest, even coming to Tinuvel a few weeks after winter had begun it had seemed like the cold season would never end.

But his ears flicked at her next question and his attention refocused on her, watching her quietly. “Well… I know the islands aren’t as populated as they once were, but I was a bit young to take on the responsibility of calling myself a herd stallion,” even now there would be many who would argue that he was still too young for such a task, “and it would have made sense if you didn’t trust in my abilities to lead.” In spite of that, Nephilim had made it through winter. He’d managed to bring more horses to Tinuvel throughout the next few seasons to follow and life had come to the Bay. There would be more eyes to watch out for one another come winter, more bodies to press to for warmth, and more for Nephilim to watch over with vigilance.

“Each island is a bit different,” he said, “I’ve been on two; Crossing Isle, where everyone seems to go to mingle, and Luthien, where I was born. Tinuvel is its own entity… no island gets as cold as this one does. Crossing Isle seems to remain temperate throughout the year. Luthien does get snow during the winter, but it’s definitely not as bad as it is here... or for as long. There are two others, Atlantis and Salem. I haven’t been to either, but I’ve heard Atlantis suffers a thick, humid heat and storms in the summer and Salem is always incredibly dry, hardly inhabitable and always hot beyond belief.” He paused and looked at her curiously. “So you’ve never been off Tinuvel then, huh?” He wondered if she went off and saw other places, whether or not she’d want to stay here after all.