Heedless of danger, and having been here before, Taika pranced forward from the reeds of the oasis the moment she started to see another horse cut their own trail through the foliage. At once she recognized the stallion who had caught her poking around his home seasons ago. It was hard to mistake or forget the stranger who had seemed to different yet similar to others in the world. It was true a creature of the desert breeds looked different from the mutts and drafts she was used to. Their blood ran hotter, and their bodies shaped to withstand the heat and the sand. But still, as she looked on him and his breed she saw no difference in the life of an equine. Her attention was almost at once captured by the colt who lingered just behind the stallion. Excitement flared in the young lady and she jumped forward with a happy whinny, only to be gently stopped by her mother just before she collided with Orhan.

“Manners.” Taytim reminded her, amusement ringing in her voice. It was one of the few times she had actually been fast enough to correct her daughter’s possibly unwise behavior.

Taika breathed a heavy sigh, giving her mom and the world around her a look of such exasperation it was comical. “Hello, Orhan.” The younger mare greeted, her impish smile replacing brief annoyance. “We have met before.” Her tail whipped across her flanks, her dark eyes still trained curiously on Koray. “You did not know what magic was.” Considering her duty to etiquette complete, she marched around her mother and peered at the wary and aloof colt. “Hello!” She greeted. “I am Taika!”

Sighing at her daughter, Taytim watched her for a moment, always unable to help the ever proud smile on her face. Yes, her daughter was exhausting, but she loved the energy the girl exuded. She turned her smile back to the stallion. “Hello, Koray. I am Taytim. My daughter has apparently found her way here and wanted to show me the desert. I apologize for her intrusion. She tends to have a mind and spirit of her own.” She looked around the oasis her offspring had found, and did indeed find the land beautiful in its own strange way. It was so different from everything she had known. She wondered if this was the land her friend had returned to. Her eyes narrowed slightly in curiosity. “The desert… I have met a mare from the desert. You seem very different from her.” Eyes that matched the shade of her daughter’s Taytim studied Orhan’s features with an open innocent curiosity. “But also similar.” She took her eyes off him and pawed at the sands a little sheepishly. “I’m sorry if I am rude, I’ve never been off Crossing, and have not met many from other islands.”