With his hindquarters pressed against the cool surface of the tall boulder that sat along the western edge of the oasis - the same one he had sheltered beneath the day Ghostwood had been born - Orhan stirred into wakefulness. The gentle sounds of splashing and whickering drew his eyes out across the water, but it was only after a few groggy moments of observing the goings-on that he registered just who he was watching. There, in the peach-colored reflection of the sunrise, were four horses: Ava, Ghostwood, and Nesrin, who had evidently given birth in the night. Beside the dunksin mare frolicked a filly with a creamy-gold coat.
He blinked in surprise. After stretching his stiff limbs and shaking the sleep from his pelt, the stallion stepped out from his shelter and took a few steps toward the water’s edge to get a better look at the group. His eyes lingered first on Nesrin’s daughter, who so looked heart-wrenchingly similar to his missing firstborn that he felt his throat tighten. Briefly his gaze drifted to pale little Ghostwood, who was as sprightly as ever, and then finally to Ava. The very fact that she was here with the herd, socializing with a smile on her face, warmed his heart. He had ached for her all through her pregnancy and been there the emotional night her daughter was born; part of him had worried that she would never recover from what she had been through, but here she was all the same.
He did not yet know Nesrin’s story, but the fact that she was here and not off somewhere else, with the foal’s father, suggested to him that she had a similarly sad tale to tell. It seemed almost fitting that she and Ava would find each other, and that their fatherless children should become friends. No, not fatherless, he reflected, and his chest swelled with compassion. He would give these mares - and their children - what they deserved: someone to look out for them.
Orhan almost could not bear to disturb the perfect picture before him, but his desire to meet Nesrin’s daughter and have some pleasant conversation outweighed his reticence. With a relaxed saunter he made his way around the oasis, foliage tickling his side as he stopped at the water’s edge. He said nothing at first, prefering simply to stand bathed in the morning light, looking on at the group with a soft smile as he waited quietly to be noticed.
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