as she wanders, in the few moments before she is spotted, she thinks curiously on how this arrangement came to be. was bahadir aware of the bad blood between her and shamwari? it was disgraceful enough having been traded off.. unwanted… but it would be even more so if shamwari had spoken ill of her on top of that…. she also thinks of the war. it is like a dark thundering sky over her, causing worry to pit in her stomach. she didn’t have a clue where dahlia was but at least daphne would be protected. she also thinks of shamwari’s hypocrisy. she knows he is the strongest ally of the forest…a safe haven lead by a mare… he acts as if he is better than warsaw and the rest…. fighting on the side of right… but he had treated her no differently than she imagined the famed grey beast treating his mares. as a piece of currency to be used and traded.
she tries to shake this thought out of her head but she thinks of vita nova then… and how things aren’t as black and white as they used to seem.
when the stallion bahadir spots her it is clear. he comes forth quickly, eager to see his prize, she thinks. she does her best not to shrink away from him, to fold into herself as has been her habit over the last couple of years. her soft blue eyes watch him carefully, direct and unflinching and though she is nervous, she nods with politeness at his welcome. her voice is soft as a breath of air when she replies. my name is petal….
she knows her unhappiness would likely be readily apparent but she still wishes to appear grateful. the glimmering brown stallion seems kind enough and she knows shamwari probably could have found a worse place for her. it doesn’t stop her anger, her distaste at being treated like this, but she still eyes bahadir respectfully. she swallows that distaste, trying to bury it, to give him a fair chance.thank you, for your welcome.
the small mare doesn’t make any mention of the dunes or her first impression of that land… it would take time to digest and hopefully her host would give her that time to acclimate before requiring an opinion. her eyes eventually leave him, casting a long look over the vast expanse, lingering for a moment on the beach in the direction of the prairie. she missed it already, despite everything.