It shouldn’t be quite such a surprise when the leader of the Dunes approaches and it is a stallion, but it is. Since coming to these strange islands he’s only really run across female leaders - that reality was an adjustment, but at this point it’s almost expected. Rafe knows how to deal with Queens, has plenty of experience in just what the mares ruling on Salem want from him. Seeing who he assumes is the leader of the Dunes emerge is a shift back to his old life, negotiating stallion to stallion. It takes a different skill set, an entirely different approach, and quite frankly it isn’t one he had come prepared to handle. With a soft sigh, Rafe shifts his weight, moving from the insouciant, relaxed sprawl he had settled into a stance much more ready to react. Rafe blinks at him, eyeing up the strangers slim, sandy form carefully. It’s too hot for a fight, but if his neighbor decides to start off this visit with aggression, Rafe will not let it go unanswered.

The Dunes leader is visibly stiff, tense as if he thinks Rafe is here for a fight, and it sets the tone quickly. When he speaks, his voice is immediately aggressive, demanding to know exactly what Rafe wants. Rafe snorts in amusement at the brusque nature of the greeting, letting his icy gaze trail across his new neighbor. Rafe could take him - he’s got height and age and likely experience on the sandy male. That self-assured confidence has only built, and some of it transfers into how he holds himself, how he speaks. “Well,” Rafe drawls, amused. “I had come to introduce myself, but if this is the way you treat your neighbors I’m not sure I want to know you.” Rafe watches the stranger for his reaction, trying to figure out if there is any indicator of how this meeting will go. “I’m Rafe. King in the Badlands. Let’s hope you’re better than the last fool who held the Dunes.” If not, Marceline and Nyimara were going to eat this pretty boy alive, and Rafe would be lying if he said it wouldn’t be the most amusing thing that could happen since winding up on Salem.