Common

Taurus had not been alone for long, and yet the mere act of socializing felt foreign to him. Niceties sat strangely in his mouth and seemed ill-fitting to the man that he'd become. After everything that had happened, and everything that he had done, it was perhaps better that he didn't have a choice in this matter. If he had, he probably would have chosen the wrong thing out of habit.

The speckled mare beside him seemed unswayed by his rudeness (which was perhaps, unsurprising, given her claim of him) and moved easily onward to grilling him about his knowledge of the islands. He suppressed a frown, and nodded agreeably instead. "I was born in the Desert when it was ruled by Cain. Do you know if it still is?"

He didn't believe his mother and father had returned, nor did he really expect that they ever would. Their position in the Desert had been short-lived, and in truth, he had few memories of the land itself. By the time he had arrived, his parents had all but been ready to leave the islands. Their stories, however, had stayed with him. Despite his relatively small amount of experience with the Lost Islands, he had a fair grasp of the different climates and terrain of the two southernmost isles, and a passable understanding of all things North.

Taurus didn't want to admit it, but seeing this poised and regal mare lose the impenetrable aura of 'cool and collected' she'd worn since claiming him amused him. It gave him some hope that she wasn't as cold and impartial as she seemed, not that he had any grand illusions about winning her affection. He'd already proven to himself that he was not cut out for such things. With a mild chuckle, repeated his own name without pointing out the fact that he'd already given it of his own volition. "It's Taurus."

"I figured you'd get around to it eventually," he offers in appeasement, not wanting to leave her with the impression that he held any sort of grudge. An awkward sort of pause stretched for a moment, and he swallowed nervously. He hadn't really thought through his decision to come to the Common… he just knew that the choices he'd been making for himself had been pretty poor and in a way, it was almost a relief to not have any agency in his future. Flicking the pale strands of tail - clumped with mud as it was - against his body, Taurus finally offered a weak sort of chuckle. "Lead the way then, I guess?"