Zevulun wouldn’t judge anyone who grew up and lived in their home territory far into their years. He had never seen himself leaving the Bay and wouldn’t have if Mariael had never pushed them away from the islands entirely. But he wondered, quietly to himself, if she had the same desire to still see the rest of the world despite that. When she confirmed at the very least she would love to visit Tinuvel, Zevulun smiled encouragingly and couldn’t help but nod.
“You should! I’d say go in the summer, that’s when it’s not too cold and at it’s prettiest.” He found himself sadly wishing, then, that he still had a place on his birth island. He always loved showing it to the horses who’d never been. Watching the wonder light their eyes as they saw how pretty the coldest island was always made him proud to have been born there.
“If uh, if you want a guide who knows their way around…” He trailed off, testing the air between them… wondering how Persephone might feel if his neighbor flirted with her daughter. His ice-blue eyes were bright as they looked over her pretty face. Zevulun calmed himself and tried not to lay it on so thick. He’d gotten a little better at controlling his romantic tendencies in his older age. He cleared his throat and went with a more even, explanatory tone. “Well, I love to explore and know a lot of cool spots around the Bay, so I’d be happy to take you.”
He glanced around them. “If you wanted to keep walking around, I’d be happy to carry a conversation while we’re on the move.” His pink nose gestured at the Meadow, “I didn’t mean to hold you up.” There was a chance, too, that she didn’t want to stand around in the autumn-struck meadow with her next door neighbor when she could see him at any time. There were so many other horses to meet on Crossing Isle. “Or if you wanted to excuse yourself to find some more far-away company,” Zevulun was polite enough to offer her the out if she wanted to so she wouldn’t have to come up with it herself. “I’d completely understand.”
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