She was only alone for another hour or so, the sun beating down on her dark grey back, when hoofbeats alerted her to the approach of another. Her head had been hanging low, but it swung upward to appraise the yearling who trotted up to her, her ears pressed forward to catch his greeting. She hesitated before returning his breath. She knew it would take a while for her to learn trust again, but she also knew her life would be harder if she didn’t make an effort. ”Hello,” she said flatly, not intending to be unfriendly, though it came out a little cold. She cleared her throat, but then suddenly flushed at Akello’s compliment.

”Oh, thank you,” she said with a nervous chuckle. She had no idea how to react; she had never been genuinely complimented before. ”Um, yours are very nice as well.” It sounded awkward, and she knew it, and cringed internally. She was very unskilled in social situations. It seemed the only thing she was good at was swimming, and finding grass in the desert. Which is pretty impressive, she tried to tell herself. She still felt very awkward, and realized that Akello had given her his name, but she had not returned the introduction. ”I’m Cerosi. You’re Cain’s son, right?” She remembered suddenly that Cain had mentioned him, and was relieved for the change of subject, both in her head and the one between the two young horses.

Her stomach growled as they chatted, and she reached down to pluck some of the thin grass around them. Why was she always hungry? She didn’t think about it directly, but Cerosi was still recovering from her escape. It would be a while before anything felt normal, but things like hunger and fatigue would be more intense for the next few days, if not weeks. At least food and shelter here were readily available (or so Cain had said - things had happened to keep her from getting a proper tour of the territory, but that was no one’s fault) despite the common misconceptions of desert environments.

”Dialogue”

• CEROSI •