Şahin felt something akin to contentment settle over him and he reveled in the sensation as he and the mare wandered further into his home. His gaze slid over to her more than once. She was very pretty. And she could hold a conversation! He was impressed most with that last bit and smiled to himself as she spoke of a neighboring territory. “Mmm,” he murmured. The name sounded familiar, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever been told of it before. It seemed like the sort of land that would exist on Atlantis.

He glanced over at his companion and his smile grew at her question. “Well, besides the fact that it’s perfect,” he said, purposely emphasizing the repeated word, “I’m not fond of the cold. Winter is pretty, I guess, but I’ve seen enough snow and felt enough wind and felt enough hunger during the dead months that I decided I didn’t want to anymore. So, here I am!” He embellished his final words with a hop and some unnecessarily high steps as he trotted ahead of her. He was in a good mood.

“You’re more than welcome to stay here, if you’d like,” Şahin said as he turned and trotted back to her. “If you’ve already got a home I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing you again. Y’know, as a visiting friend or whatever.” He tossed his forelock out of his eyes and grinned at her. “What’s your name? I’ll need something to whisper when I see a shooting star,” he said, and winked.