Do you feel a bit better? Nasa asked, and Cerosi turned her golden gaze to the arabian. ”Yes, thank you,” she said with a smile. ”The water helped a bit. It’ll be nice when I lose the winter fluff,” she added with a dry laugh. ”Are you enjoying the heat after the cold Crossing?” she asked.

As she listened to both Nasa and Cain’s responses, Cerosi finally took the time to observe the land before her. To a newcomer (and Cerosi was certainly a newcomer) the desert did not look like it hid many secrets. Open and monochrome, predator and prey alike would be hard-pressed to find hiding places here. But from what Cain had told her so far about his home, Cerosi began to spot little things that a true stranger to the desert might not. Surrounding the oasis there was grass, and some distance away Cerosi could see a bit more lining a gentle dune, which probably meant another oasis in that direction. The shadow beneath another dune might have been the mouth of a cave, but it was hard to tell at this distance. Her curiosity was beginning to border on hunger for exploring this place, but she waited patiently, listening to Cain’s story.

She could tell it was a hard one to share. As the painted Vanner spelled out his past for his new companions, Cerosi’s face began to darken. He sounded like the stallions of her tribe, though he did not act like one now. She was conflicted. She did not think he intended to trick them by telling the truth of his past, and he had nothing to gain if this was a lie. She pondered for some time after he finished, rolling around his words in her head. She did not feel in danger right now. She did not believe Cain would force her or Nasa to stay, or that he would force himself on either one of them. But it was still upsetting to hear, and it took her a few long seconds to shake away the picture he had painted for them.

Cain’s history here was not all bad, as it turned out. Cerosi wanted to believe he was truly working to change; he appeared happy, and she could tell the shame in his eyes when he did share the bad parts had been genuine. She knew this because she had never seen shame in a stallion’s eyes before, and because he could have easily hid the dark parts of his past from them. Yet he didn’t; he shared freely with Cerosi and Nasa, and the carbon mare decided she respected him for his honesty if nothing else.

She looked to Nasa first when Cain asked if they’d like to explore. ”I’m ready to move, but the oasis is lovely,” she said, wanting to see everything there was to see but not wanting to leave Nasa behind if she was not yet ready. She had forgotten whatever other questions she had; she assumed they would come up organically as they spent time together, or she would find the answers on her own.

”Dialogue”

• CEROSI •