It was strange to look at him and feel her suspicions vanish. Like mist, they seemed to simply evaporate. Even if he was a stranger, he was so young, and so full of wonder. How could she be suspicious of that? If anything, it made her feel a dash of concern for him. He seemed to be alone. How long had that been the case? Did he have somewhere to go back too? As far as Vesna knew, the islands weren't particularly dangerous, but it was risky to be alone that young nonetheless. If the weather turned, or somebody wanted to fight, there wasn't much a colt his age could do about it...It took all her strength to subdue those thoughts as they rushed to the forefront of her mind. He isn't you, she had to remind herself, so don't project your childhood onto him.
Besides, he seemed confident, even if he might have been a little embarrassed. It was Vesna's turn to be completely embarrassed though, though for a completely separate reason. When he mentioned Salem, she had immediately pulled a face of confusion -- furrowed brows, ears back -- and it took her a moment to compose herself. She'd completely forgotten that she was well and truly a stranger...The idea of there being other islands had completely eluded her since she had arrived. Of course there were other islands, she quietly scolded herself, but she'd been too preoccupied to even start learning more about them.
"It's a waterfall," she quickly answered, trying to conceal the fact that she'd reacted that way. "Normally, they form from rivers that come to a drop off. This one is a bit different, though." She motioned upwards with her muzzle, towards where the torrent of water originated. "This one is kind of like the mother of a river, since it comes right out of the mountains." She grinned, then looked slowly back to him. Had he really never seen any kind of waterfall? They were often smaller, sure, but were they really that rare? She tucked that piece of information away for later. Salem and lack of waterfall.
Slowly, she shuffled forward again. She was exceptionally careful with her steps now that he had noticed her, making sure she didn't slip at all. It was important to present herself as confident, at least to Vesna. It was arduous work, but eventually she found flatter, firmer ground and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Her ears were quick to flicker to attention though, and she gave Akello a quizzical, probing sort of look. It wasn't suspicious, no, but perhaps a cousin of suspicion.
"I'm Vesna, by the way," she said slowly at first, a little cautiously. Nonetheless, she still grinned and bowed her head slowly, as respectful as she could be. "Could you tell me about this...Salem? This place without waterfalls."
vesna.