never had a day go by we were sober
sitting in a cold room wide awake

Had Valencia’s intense brown gaze been able to bore through El Aran’s skull and see right into her mind, she would have been most intrigued and amused by the effect her trivial revelations were having on the poor mare. As it was, however, she was quite content and interested enough by the surprise that covered the woman’s face and hung so heavily on the silence between them.

Before Valencia could prod her newest companion for more information, however, the sound of approaching hoof beats reluctantly dragged her attention away from the dark mare. She turned her head in their direction to locate their owner, and was pleasantly surprised to see Encantador making his way towards them.

A small but warm and honest smile cracked her lips, and she took a step forwards to meet him. He greeted her plainly, but with smile. He looked tired, but otherwise his physique had improved vastly since their last meeting, when he had been but a bag of skin and bones—down and defeated. She pondered what he had been losing sleep over, but decided that for now she would not press him considering the improvements he had made.

Her brother was getting better, slowly but surely at least. As the only remaining family she knew about, Valencia felt a certain sisterly duty to protect him, despite being his younger by several years.

“Encantador,” she returned kindly.

She watched with interest as the mare moved closer to him, near enough to brush her side against his. She couldn’t help but wonder if they were romantically involved or just friends, every scenario and reasonable possibility flitting through her fast-paced mind in an instant.

“You look better,” she stated simply, though her tone conveyed real feeling behind the blunt words.

Valencia fell silent for a long moment then, savouring the renewed image of Encantador’s healthier image in her memory, before suddenly realising that she was still missing a very important piece of information. Although she addressed him once more, her words were aimed at his companion and her gaze flicked towards the mare beside him again, as curious and inquisitive as ever.

“Won’t you introduce me to your attentive sentry?”