He’s been neglectful of visiting his neighbors. Now that he has met Marceline and skulked around enough to find that Nyimara has taken the Desert, that leaves only the Dunes. He’d met their leader once, briefly, but from what the pretty, spotted, sweet little queen in the Hills had said, Fiero is long gone. So early one morning, before the sun has broken over the horizon, he heads east. Even in Autumn, Salem is miserably hot, and he wants to spare himself as much of the oppressive heat as possible.

It’s a long walk from the rocky center of his home to the sloping, barren Dunes but Rafe moves briskly and makes the trip just as the sun breaks, the world cast pretty in shades of pink and gold. The land is empty of other figures, but Rafe knows well that just because he can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t around. After all, his own holding looks utterly abandoned, until they creep out from the nooks and crannies they’ve hidden away in. Perhaps this herd is the same way.

He wanders further in, careful feet stepping over the loose, sandy soil and picking a path through the dry, brittle plants at his feet. Icy green-blue eyes cast carefully around the land, but still Rafe cannot pick anything out. He isn’t terribly concerned - all he has on his schedule today is digging into the Dunes, finding out who it is ruling this territory. His own mares are...exceptionally testy, now that the season has set in and amped up hormones. Rafe hasn’t forced the issue, and has no intention - Vela and Viveka may well find him distasteful, but plenty of others have shown the sort of appreciation he’s used to. He stops below a gnarled, nearly-bare tree and lets out a sigh.

The Dunes are as barren as the edges of the Badlands are, and from here Rafe can see all around him, will have no issues picking out anyone approaching; he lets out a loud call, announcing his presence in case the herd has missed his arrival. The sun rises higher and higher in the sky, and he settles in for a hot, exhausting wait. Whoever it is that holds this land will arrive in their own time, and Rafe will make his introductions then. If they’re a fit leader, rational and strong enough to hold this land, perhaps they can align. If not, well, Rafe has never been opposed to fratricide and installing someone he can actually work with in the Dunes. Either way, he will be one step closer to a united Salem, and another ally to add to his slowly-growing list.