They said we'd burn so bright.
We burn this city and go.
Paradiso feels the mare's gaze upon him first, and he tries not to quiver underneath it. She is calculated and swift in the way she looks him over, assessing him quickly, but he can see the skepticism in her eye even as she addresses both he and the other stallion in a charming and friendly manner. He expected as such -- Paradiso can smell no other stallion or herd upon her, just sea water. It's clear that she is new to the islands, and their conversation moves quickly in a way to confirm his assumption. Despite her cool uneasiness, Paradiso finds himself drawn to her, admiring her expressions and her words from afar. Initially she reminds him of an old friend from the Forest, Valarian, a beautiful, refined but brave mare that he secretly adored for some time during his more adrift days. While Paradiso still felt nervous under her gaze, he fared better in a mare's company now than his attempts from earlier days when his nerves rendered him mostly useless.
The grey stallion seems less enthused about Paradiso's company, but not necessarily aggressive by the thought of it. Quietly the spotted stallion breathes a sigh of relief for that, but warily watches Brick from his position a few feet away. One smoky-colored ear flicks forward and back as they both share vague details of some sort of lesser versions of their previous homes. Paradiso cocks his head to one side as he listens. It's a familiar narrative. So many here sought out the islands for change. Others washed up here by happenstance, but stuck around because what they knew on the mainlands paled in comparison to a fresh start in such an exotic place. Paradiso mused that he should feel lucky. The isles were all he knew.
"Well, let me be the first to welcome you both to the Lost Islands then." He said with a slanted grin across his whispered lips. "I was born here. It's a place inhabited mostly by our kind. There are a chain of islands that extend farther East from here. This is the Crossing Isle where many of us come to, well, socialize." Paradiso explained. He felt more confident in their company now that he knew he had something assured to share with them. "My name is Paradiso. I live on Tinuvel, the next island over in the chain, with a herd in the Bay. It's cold there. But not all the islands are." His nostrils flare lazily as he takes in Brick's scent, noting the earthy tones on his coat but he can't place which island to which Brick is referring. "Where have you ventured out to, Brick?"
Stallion | Evaline x Valentine | Smokey black pintaloosa | 15 hh | Photo © Carina Mailwald | © Vinyl |
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