bhaskara stares pointedly at the painted creature as she states she hadn’t actually asked for help. the smaller mare had come screaming in, running up to her in blind panic, merely to “hope aloud” that she could speak? bhaskara could only roll her eyes sternly in response to that. the elegant bay mare then muses, wondering what the mare before her would do if she strode away into the dunes… “well now that you know I can indeed talk, perhaps you need no further assistance…”

with keen dark eyes she studies the wallowing mare carefully, the way she spat at the sea, and how she seemed constantly offended. when she refuses to carry herself further out into the surf to cool down more quickly bhaskara’s ears flicker with mild annoyance and some amusement…. she simply shakes her head, shrugging as if to say suit yourself…. the waves lapped at her own black hooves tepidly when she looks down at them. whatever storm had tousled the mare had passed.

the next words that pass from the black and white cause bhaskara’s eyes to widen in surprise in more ways than one… firstly she is genuinely surprised…. other than her first comment, identifying the mare as “little” she hadn’t meant to further offend her, merely to demand some small amount of respect she felt she, and every other being, might deserve. … she turns their interactions over in her mind, wondering now what line she had crossed to earn another such rebuke. the other surprise is the tone in which the mare speaks…. though bhaskara can plainly see it pains her to speak in such a manner. it is much milder and borders on cordial even…

it causes her to pause….in someways she feels justified in her behavior… she had thought her home was in danger… or that the mare herself ran from some mortal threat… but after consideration, this is less important that stepping forward on more positive footing so-to-speak. bhaskara lowers her head, stepping a foot closer in the shallow water to respond genuinely. ”i am sorry. i did not intend for you to feel…. slighted. let us move forward now then?”

bhaskara lets her dark eyes drift back out to sea then, still scanning the horizon, when the mare speaks again. her curved ears, tipped with black, flick backward though not with annoyance… it is with worry, surprisingly. as brusque as the mare before her is, she feels the “her” she refers to must be incredibly important to Fjö∂ur… and knowing how soul-crushing terrible being alone and “helpless” was, bhaskara couldn’t help but be concerned. her lips quirk subtly, noticing the mare hadn’t offered to ask her name… so, with a small measure of amusement she doesn’t offer it. instead she nods her acknowledgment. ”when you are cool then, Fjö∂ur, i will show you the way. this is the isle of salem, where fresh water can be difficult to come by. let us hope that your companion is hosted by a more hospitable land.” with this she turns away, stepping up the beach to wait patiently at the edge of the rolling mounds of sand that lie inland.