El Aran watched the bay mare dip her head to the water and drink. The seer maintained her silence, though she wondered where the stranger had come from and why she would choose to cross the Desert. Perhaps it had not been by choice. The black mare tipped an ear back and listened for sounds of pursuit, but she did not hear the scuff of hooves upon sand or the tell-tale silence that preceded an ambush. All was calm. She did not relax her vigilance even when the other mare raised her head and introduced herself. The cause of El Aran’s anxiety may have matured, but it did not make her any less wary of her surroundings. Even with a stallion to partner her, and the extra ears and eyes of a herd at her back, the black mare was ever watchful. It was a thing ingrained into her from the day she was born, from the moment her family was set upon by the Purebreds. Violence could come from anywhere and at any time, and she refused to be caught unawares. The unwary were as good as dead.
Night often erased the logic of El Aran’s thoughts. The Islands of the Lost were safe in comparison to her home, and she had yet to be assaulted in this Desert. With the sun would come her belief in the idea of safety, and her vigilance would be lessened to a degree. She dipped her head to acknowledge Adara’s words and swiveled another ear. "I am the only one here," she admitted. "But, peace. We need not fight for anything but survival in this land." El Aran thanked Aşk regularly for that fact. In war, everyone lost. The Islands seemed to be in a perpetual state of peace. It would seem like heaven if the seer was ever able to relax her guard enough to enjoy the lack of conflict.
Adara’s posture spoke of strength and capability. The black mare wondered if experience influenced her as well, but a more pressing question came to the front of her mind. "Why have you come here?" she asked. "This Desert offers us nothing." Nothing but dehydration, starvation, and eventually death if one wasn’t prepared for the harsh reality of the dry sands. There was no scent of stallion to attract the mare to a possible breeder, and El Aran herself was nothing special. Her suspicion was mild compared to her curiosity, though it was lucky for Adara that she showed no signs of Arabian or Akhal-Teke blood.
el aran
Seer of Aşk. |