Kore listened, rapt, at Ak Burun’s tale of her far-flung sister. The white-nosed mare had her hook, line, and sinker, playing masterfully on the strings of her heart and pulling at the empathy entrenched in her from birth. The thought of another soul, so like her, lost and searching - it broke her. She had not known true loneliness for long, having been scooped up by Maslakhat so quickly upon her arrival to the Islands, but the bit she had tasted was nothing she’d wish on anyone.

It pained her, then, to admit that she had no useful information. “Shararat,” she repeated softly, tasting the name on her tongue before frowning and shaking her head. “A beautiful name, but not one I’ve heard, I’m afraid.” Remorse rose in her gut, warming her cheeks, and she almost couldn’t look at the two of them. She felt useless - how would she, the newest of them, have possibly been able to find someone in a place she knew nothing about? Why did she even consider that a possibility?

Kore’s gaze flicked to Maslakhat, gauging his reaction, before looking back to Ak Burun. Resolve tightened like a fist within her, and as her tail snapped against her hindquarters and the chill of the desert night crept slowly over her skin, the bay grew determined again to be of use in any way she could. Demeter had always said the best way to combat feelings of futility was to do something, to try, and to learn from the outcomes of your trying to better pinpoint a solution to the issue at hand. Kore had tried leaning on her (Albeit shallow) breadth of knowledge about the Islands. Now it was time to act.

She waited for her turn to speak, listening for Maslakhat’s response before allowing her words to tumble impulsively out of her mouth. “Two pairs of eyes are better than one,” she offered, looking hopefully at Ak Burun. “It’s a bit late to head out,” Kore added, glancing up at the darkness further enveloping them, “but maybe, come morning, I can help you in your search, if you’d like.” The events of the past few days had tired her, and she needed the kind of deep rest that only bedding down within a herd would give, but she couldn’t just waste her days lounging around the oasis while knowing of Shararat’s disappearance. Even if their search proved fruitless, she could at least say she had tried - and maybe, along the way, she would learn more about Salem, the Islands themselves, and the inhabitants therein.

All the white-nosed mare had to do was call, and Kore, sweet, naive, ever-hopeful, would come running.