Orhan had bred with only three mares in his life, and today, that number became four. It was not something he had anticipated or planned, or even aggressively pursued, even once the moment was upon them; for him, sex was not a particularly strong need. In truth, he only really experienced desire when he was with a horse he trusted, and strong emotions were upon him: in short, he only wanted such physical intimacy when he felt safe and caught up in the moment.

All four mares he cared for deeply, in one way or another. But such a union with Arcana had always seemed like a distant fantasy up till now.

Questions would no doubt spin through his mind later - such as, why had she left all those years ago? where had she gone? why had she come back? - but for the time being his brain was devoid of everything but ecstasy. Since the death of his mother, he had not known such joy was possible. It felt almost strange - wonderfully so, mind you - to laugh as Arcana challenged him to a race back to the desert. He let her lead the way, partly because his energy stores were all but depleted, and his body ran only on adrenaline (he had already gotten into a fight and swum the seas once that day, after all), but also because from behind her, he could truly appreciate the sight of her.

Arcana was lathered and winded by the time they reached the oasis, but not more so than Orhan. His legs felt like jelly and his lungs burned as they reached the water's edge, and though thirst ravaged him he was too out of breath to drink straight away, as Arcana did. This, however, gave him ample time to notice that they were not alone. He eyed the little gold and white mare near them as he caught his breath, his face the picture of surprise. He knew her, but from where?

He had not known Carys as long as he'd known Arcana, but as soon as the latter breathed the former's name, it came to him and his lips parted. A memory of the three of them standing together on a dune, little more than children, surfaced in his brain. He recalled he had been exhausted that day too, and desperate to impress the two of them. He was older and wiser now, but the shock of seeing the mare again after so long rendered the sweaty stallion silent.

What a day it had been.