A few days had passed since Kore’s fateful meeting with the golden stallion Maslakhat and subsequent arrival to Salem. After the whirlwind of the last few weeks, she had enjoyed taking some time to herself, from bathing in the waters of the oasis in the early morning without worry of intrusion by her seemingly endless number of attendants to relaxing under the shade of the palms in the afternoon, watching the straggling blooms of late spring make their appearance and not missing the looming spectre of her duties hovering like a rain cloud over her head. And because the Dunes were still so empty, when her thoughts did attempt to catch up to her, she had plenty of room to outrun them.

Kore’s slim body rounded the edge of a large dune. She ran as if chased, nearly frantic in her pacing, and were it not for the echo of their voices in her ears she might have missed the two stallions looking down the slope from above. Her breath caught in her throat, and as her gaze locked onto them she nearly tripped over herself skidding to a stop. The mare stood, luckily, downwind of them; their scents, irrevocably mixed and yet unique to each other, flooded her nostrils. Theirs didn’t match any of those she had noticed upon her arrival, nor anytime since, and for a second, she wondered if she should call for Maslakhat. Did he know they were here, too? Should he know?

Staring at them - and having surely caught their attention, now that she’d made such a commotion stopping herself upon seeing them - the dark bay decided against it. Two strangers, stallions both, made her spine tingle with nervous electricity… but ringing a false alarm would embarrass her, and expose her naïveté to someone she wanted to impress. She was old enough, now, to trust her own judgement. She would see for herself what business these white-speckled creatures had here, and discern from there whether or not to ring for reinforcements.

Perhaps, though, she would let the two of them come to her.

Kore’s dark ears tipped forward, and she sent a long, high whinny in their direction, beckoning them down the slope. Her voice, delicate with intrigue and just slightly wary, rang out soon after.

“Hello?”