Common

He takes a step back and she watches him curiously, not sure what to make of it. Is he giving himself more room to attack? But no, he seems to be making himself small and she can’t help but wonder if the gesture is for her. Did he sense her discomfort at his presence? Would someone intent on hurting her go through the trouble? She doesn’t know, but even so she feels herself relaxing just a bit, some of the tightness evaporating from her shoulders.

She can feel the roaring disapproval of her constant companion before she hears it, the familiar croon dripping in disdain. ”You are too easily swayed, you stupid creature. Don’t you remember the last one? He seemed nice, too, remember?”

She does, of course, but it isn’t a deterrent, really. He was nice to her, despite whatever reputation sullied him otherwise. Monstrous though he was rumoured to be, she never felt the effects of his cruelty, only heard of them.

”Yes, a few years ago. I didn’t stay for long, though since my departure I’ve felt obligated to return. I’m not sure why,” she adds, giving him a half-hearted, tight smile. Her mother would approve the effort - she’d always been the smiling sort, full of kindness and laughter that clearly hadn’t passed down. Unfortunate, but the least she can do is try to make her mother’ proud, despite the constant feeling of foreboding that lingers no matter how hard she tries to shake it.

In any case, he’s been kind enough, he deserves at least something in return for it.
He’s been kind enough for now…

She doesn’t heed the subtle warning and instead turns her attention back to the stallion - Cinnamon - her smile brightening just a bit as he introduces himself. ”Entirely by chance, I believe. Unless my mother went on some adventure she failed to mention when I was a girl. Knowing her, that might actually be plausible.” She had been the spontaneous type, but could she have really traveled here in her youth? Probably not, but it’s interesting to consider. She’d not thought of it before, but why not? After all, she’d come here, why couldn’t her mother?

Not that it mattered, she reminds herself, eyes roaming back to the stallion, not realizing he might’ve heard her scolding the parasitic beast she carried around until he questions her, cleary confused. ”Oh! Nothing, nothing. Everything is fine.” She flashes him a smile that is not entirely convincing, shifting from foot to foot as her gaze wanders sideways, embarrassment flooding over her. ”It’s just… I’m not used to strangers,” she finishes lamely, the excuse falling flat in the air between them. He’d heard her, she knows. Did he suspect anything?

She squirms, shaking her head and dipping to snag a few pieces of grass that she chews idly, not truly hungry but needing to distract herself from the awkwardness between them, awkwardness that surely was her fault.

She swallows the mouthful, clears her throat, hoping to distract him from what he might’ve heard. ”Do..do you live nearby? I don’t really have a home myself. Yet, at least.”
(ooc: woww this is a cluster, i apologize. -sob-)