Dante shook his head slowly as Belita spoke, her apologies and excuses long and unnecessary. He wasn’t angry, upset or disappointed by her disappearance—only curious as to why. But with her return the curiosity vanished, and her reasons no longer mattered as long as she had not run from him in disgust, anger or fear. As long as he wasn’t the source of her problem, he would not pry into her personal matters unless she needed him to fix something for her.

“Please,” he said quietly, as soon as he had a chance to interject. His tone was gentle but firm as he tried to put an end to her promises. “It doesn’t matter. You are always welcome here, and I always welcome the opportunity to get to know others.”

He offered her a warm smile as she laughed, the sound bright and cheering. He only watched her in silence, however, as she continued to talk—moving on to less jolly conversational territory. Frowning very slightly, Dante considered his reply for a moment before speaking. He knew that his virtually non-existent herd was small by anyone’s standards, though he had yet to feel any strong incentive to rush out and collect mares like they were going out of fashion. Perhaps it was company that Belita yearned for, he wondered, and made a mental note to try harder to find her some.

“I was busy for a while looking after my son and his mother, but they, too, have since vanished. There have been many visitors, but no permanent residents since. I’ve had sufficient company, so I suppose I haven’t thought about it much.”

He paused, before moving on the conversation and altering its direction slightly.

“What about you? Where have you been since you left? Anywhere interesting?”

DANTE
a man possessed of some radical notions