He was a serious young man, this young stallion that had greeted her, but he did not seem unkind. The impassiveness of his expression did not faze Ava, however, and she continued to offer him the same pleasant smile that graced her lips in a gentle, relaxed curve. She had spent too many years forgetting to smile, and she was going to make up for it now. Despite his preoccupation with the snake that remained somewhere nearby, the stallion eventually managed to pull his attention away from the pesky little creature and offer to show her to the oasis. Ava was grateful for the suggestion, given the incessant heat that prickled all up her back and baked the sand beneath her dainty hooves. “Thank you,” she replied, accepting his offer gratefully as she fell into place beside him. He was not an unusually tall stallion, but she was an unusually small mare and she had to move briskly to match his long strides. She was silent for a moment, her bright emerald eyes wandering curiously over the horizon as she drank it its strange and exotic beauty. “So what’s your story, stranger?” she asked, tilting her head inquisitively as she turned back to the stallion. |