It was no small talent of the golden duo to remain hidden amongst the sands – in their homeland it was a necessity of life to be able to disappear in a flash of gold and a drifting trail of upturned sand. Since their return, they had spent much time observing, planning, and waiting. Things had changed amongst their sands, even since they had once again stepped from the cool, salty tang of the ocean and into the blessed, blistering heat of the Dunes. Their brief encounter with the Arabians and the elusive Teke had proved fruitless and they had drifted away, losing themselves as far into the undulating dunes as they could. The pair had spent much time re-learning the territory, finding sustenance where they could, and lazily relishing, day after day, the sun and the sand in equal measure. For the not-twins, this was paradise.

They moved across the Dunes now as one, so close that their flanks brushed, their long, dark legs stretching and slashing at the sands in a succinct, efficient gallop. They enjoyed their friendly competition immensely; occasionally one would burst ahead with a flash of ankles into the sky, while the other squealed and ducked dramatically before a powerful thrust of hindquarters would draw the two golden bodies level once again. Side by side, they left a distinctive rooster tail of sand in their wake as they turned toward one of the larger dunes in their closer vicinity and poured on a little extra steam to push their sweaty, sleek bodies to the crest.

Halting atop the dune, the strangely similar faces turned in opposite directions, quickly surveying their surroundings. The slightly taller, paler version of the two dipped his muzzle toward his chest after a moment, offering a soft nicker to his companion. Immediately, her attention turned to follow the point of his ears, dark eyes matching his stare at the shimmer of a fellow body amongst the dunes. As one, they set off again, this time at a handsome, ground-covering jog, making no effort to disguise their approach to the red-gold stallion across the sands. Nearing him, their dark eyes carefully surveyed his body as they slowed to a walk, then to a halt, marking him as one of their own kind, which softened their usual hostile arrogance ever so slightly. They stood silent for a moment, allowing the bay to survey them as openly as they surveyed him, before the mare cautiously stepped forward.

“ Selamlar ,” she began in a foreign, sexless voice, “We are pleased to find another child of the sands, yabancı. It has been too long since we have seen another of our kind.”

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sekhet & sutekh
mare. akhal-teke. buckskin. fifteen-three. seven.
stallion. akhal-teke. buckskin. sixteen-zero. six.
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