She was changed.

Ever so slightly perhaps, but it was a change none the less, that those who had once known her so well would have recognized such a minute difference. It was nothing particular, it was simply an air about her. Where once the timid filly had stood, now stands a mare with a fearlessness and hardness matched by only the most seasoned of stallions. It came from the life of a loner, a nomad. She had grown quickly in the time that she had spent away from her father's herd and the confines of a herd life. It was true the missed the constant companionship that she had in her mother and the other mares that had helped to raise her... but she did not miss the dominance that stallions there had demonstrated. She was determined to make her own path in life... and it had not been there.

This forest that she had chosen, was not much different from the same forests where her own family had made their home. Grant it, they had the run of pretty much anywhere they stepped foot, but Valerian was pretty much content in remaining beneath the sheltering branches of the thickset oaks and massive redwoods.

The stallion speaks again now at the offer of her name, paying compliment to the elegance that entwined itself around each syllable. Her mother had been peculiar about the naming of her offspring. While most of the other mares were content with common tongue names such as MoonGlow or Wind Whisper, the pale grey mare had been careful to chose names much harder to pronounce. Only once Valerian had ventured enough curiosity to inquire behind the purpose, but the mare had simply shaken it off with promises that in time she would understand. Perhaps now she did for the spotted stallion is rewarded with an annoyed grimace to match his wolfish grin.

He offers his own name, Paradiso and he is rewarded with a single flicker of her ear amid the tumble of ashen tresses. It was an odd name, much different from the likes of Midnight or Wolfclaw that she was used to, but it had a nice ring to it as she let the syllables play over in her head. So much for her own mother's creativity.

He speaks now of another mare, one that had once ruled these lands, and apparently a stallion that followed in her wake. No doubt the source of the faded scents that had clung to the bark of trees near the border. Paper thin nostrils flared as a harsh snort escapes her lungs, her proud head raised in defiance. "I know of none that remain here still... the scents I came across were faint and many months old." she responds, pausing for a moment to let the resolve of her words sink in. Even had their scents still been strong and keen, she would have seen to it that these lands became hers, in some form or fashion. After all, she would never learn to fight without first taking part in a battle.

He inclines his strong head towards the woodlands behind him where without having to look she knew lay the river and beyond that the deep grasses of the prairie. He advises her that it is his brother that calls the small band of horses his own and that is rewarded with a peak of interest in her glacier eyes. It made sense that she at some point meet this stallion and his merry band. If nothing more than to simply have a knowledge of those that dwelled so close to her own borders. A smug grin slips across her elegantly beautiful face as she dips her proud brow ever so slightly to Paradiso now, "It is nice to meet you as well, regardless of the fact that you came unannounced... for once I shall let it go unabashed." she added with a seductive smile before continuing once more. "I suppose you could be useful... if it is that you intend to stay." she finishes, allowing her last words to hang between them, clear curiosity hanging upon her words.