He was so glad to see the red dun so happy, that he did not mind when she turned down his offer, even if it was blunt. It might have been something the stallion said if he was not enjoying himself so much. She spoke again, and Xanti snorted as he had strayed closer and gotten some of the dust in his nose. Prancing away, he snorted more harshly (almost like a sneeze) and grinned at her. "Would it be fitting to say that you look ancient?" He joked, moving closer again to nudge at her shoulder playfully. Being that the mare was so young almost made the joke more humorous to him, and he wondered if it would be a greeting of her's once he was old enough. The grullo was twelve summers old, he doubted it would be long before she started using the joke. Then again, for all he knew she would not follow the plan he had made in his head.

Prancing away, the stallion followed the red with actions that were playful and silly. When a nice wind hit them with the sharp string of sand, he bucked and neighed happily. When a lizard or large incest skittered away from the pair, he nickered at them. Any other signs of life were greeted with a whinny. Moving a bit faster to trot next to the mare, he snorted exaggeratedly to remind her of the small dust clouds that trailed from her. They had been going long enough for the dust to be nearly invisible and small, but the stallion quite liked the joke. He hoped the red would not be offended by it.

Xanti bucked and fell out of step for a second or two, but liked the new position he was in. His muzzle was just a little behind her ear, and he enjoyed following someone for a change. "So," he began, "have you swam through the ocean a lot?" Obviously she had to swim to get to the Dunes, and if he was right she had told him that she was not born at the Islands. There, she had swam in the ocean to get to a different destination at least twice. Feeling proud of figuring something about the mare out – without her, that is – he tossed his mane and found himself following a bit further behind than before.