it seemed the devaeton were not as angry at her as she expected for clearly there was some divine hand in the circumstances that she had come upon in this strange land…. her thoughts had been equally hopeful and troubled in the moments before her consciousness slipped away. she had fretted for some minutes before falling into that sleep, worried her dreams would carry her back into the surf, with the deafening sound of waves rushing around her, but instead she knew only quiet blissful rest.

the sound of his hoofbeats on the stone wakes her. at first she is frozen, still as a fawn hiding in the brush at it’s mothers behest, but his scent catches the soft breeze and her muscles unbind themselves. she feels the corners of her lips rise in a subtle smile as he speaks. his thoughtfulness still makes her feel unworthy but knowing there is no alternative to accepting his help with gratefulness, she tries to push the ugly feeling away.

at the mention of food she does notice how hunger gnaws at her insides, realizing starkly that she had missed all of her meals yesterday… she does not want to remember the ceremonial naashta, the last meal she was supposed to consume before the oblation… but she does, thinking of the bland few bites of desert grass she had barely managed to swallow, like rocks in her throat…

her smile fades, like a soft light dimming, but she still bobbles her head appreciatively, trying to choke back the emotion that she is suddenly swimming in. as he comes closer, her curled ears follow the sounds of him around her. her white muzzle lifts toward him, like a compass to the north, and her smile returns as he remarks on the smell of the desert flowers. she had noticed the scent last night, but had been too tired to investigate it further. she was somewhat nervous of exploring at all, truthfully, with no one beside her. she had been alone more in the past twelve hours than she likely had her entire life.

the warmth of his breath on her withers causes her skin to dance and her stomach to flutter. content that he was safely beside her, and not in any position to disrupt her from standing, varajakshi slides her slender stockinged legs out in front of her and pulls herself to her hooves gracefully. there is a strange desire in her that yearns to appear elegant and poised before him and so though she wants to yawn, to stretch out her limbs, propriety keeps her from these movements. instead the small mare turns her face toward him, pale pink nostrils inhaling his scent as he speaks again. this time she shakes her head gently before responding. ”thank you, abhibhaavak. please do not worry on my tastes, for i will be perfectly happy with plain fare….” she cannot see his eyes on her, but she feels the weight of them, or at least she thinks… her soft voice is full of concern as she speaks again. ” I hope you also rested well? i would eat with you if you might join me…. unless your duties call you else where of course.”