The Desert was kind to him. The comfort of the heat and the knowledge that he had a home and purpose had softened the edges of his depression and renewed his interest in life once more. It was the comfort of living here that had encouraged him to put himself out there and had led to the possibility of children come the fall season. His time with Cherokee had been brief, hardly more intimate than a business transaction and simply a way for her to assuage her fears that not all stallions were out to forcibly take something that was not theirs.

His time with Libra, however, brought a smile to his lips, and he relished the memory but did not expect to see her soon. Crow would not forcibly remove her from her home with Bahadir, even though he longed to see both Libra and the bright mare Nereid again. The news that a buckskin mare by the name of Shaydowfax had taken over left him worried for their safety, but not certain enough of their connection to barge over and whisk them to safety. For all that he knew, Bahadir had secured them an equally safe home somewhere else.

These interactions though, had given him the confidence to venture toward the claiming grounds. And while he did not expect the feisty Najaat to actually come to the Desert, he sincerely hoped that she would. He'd not seen any trace of the mare she sought in the Meadow and was left only to wonder if she'd had success in the Falls. He doubted it, if he was being realistic, but he did not want her to be unhappy either. Strange how one could both desperately hope for and against the same outcome.

Flicking the strands of his pale tail across his haunches the lean stallion strode across the beach of the Desert, making his normal rounds to check for intruders when the prospect of company pulled him away. He'd spent much of his time alone here, existing only on the periphery of the herd, but perhaps it was time to change that? With a welcoming call, Scarecrow stills his movement and peers across the beautiful desert to see if anyone would take him up on his offer.