Koray

When the mare wondered out loud about the desert's climate, Koray snorted and let his gaze roam lazily. To him her question was a stupid one. Normally he would have openly mocked her for asking such a thing, but now - reminding himself that he must be on his best behavior while he was here - he stifled the urge, instead taking a moment to consider how best to reply.

Finally he said, "It just is. It's a little cooler in winter, and it can get really cold at night, but otherwise it's always hot here. It will take you a while to get used to it." He lifted his head and squinted into the sunlight, feeling the heat on his skin that was already making his skin prickle with sweat beneath his sea-dampened coat. He had been away from home for too long; it would be a while before he was acclimated to the climate again.

He led her inland. The wet sand became earth that was baked dry under their hooves, with a thousand cracks snaking across its surface. It was a short, easy walk across this stretch of flat ground, and then the earth became softer and looser, rising in a shallow incline that led them into the heart of the dunes. All of Koray's attention was focused on the horizon before them, his green eyes and red-tipped ears straining for the first signs of the oasis and the herd.

Finally, as they crested a particularly high hill, Koray stopped. His muscles burned from the effort of the climb, and he was winded from the exertion, but his eyes were alight with anticipation. There, nestled before them in a little valley, was the broad lake of the oasis stretching in a great arc, with green hugging it on every side. He could smell the sulfur-scented water, and beneath that the subtle musk of his father. He was home.

His heart hammering in his chest, the young stallion waited to see if Orhan would rush out to meet them, or if he would see them off as intruders. But the oasis was quiet, and he could see no one. "They must be resting in the shade somewhere," Koray commented, then casually side-eyed Vita Nova. "You thirsty?"