“Ah, so are you from one of the other islands, then?” Zevulun asked curiously as he moved forward, further into the clearing where he could share the fresh, sweet spring grasses. The stallion - Ori, he’d said his name was - smelled only of Crossing Isle, but that didn’t automatically mean he was entirely new here. Zevulun knew all too well the comings and goings of the islanders (himself included) but he found himself briefly excited when Ori mentioned never having seen Luthien. He immediately wanted to invite him to come see the Prairie at his leisure, but suddenly held his tongue.
Zevulun thought of Riesling and the lessons she’d been imparting on him and how effectively she’d checked his foolish tendency to trust other stallion’s so quickly. He always assumed all stallions were raised like he was, but he was finding out very quickly there was a wild difference in a way a stallion could choose to live his life. Maybe it would be better to get to know this stallion a little more before he invited him to come see the Prairie. He was not interested in hearing the lecture Riesling would give him if he invited this stallion to the Prairie and something happened that put the herd in harm’s way. Still, nothing Ori had done or said thus far told Zevulun to worry about him. Ori was as receptive and warm toward his company as Zevulun felt toward him, even making him smile slightly as he decided to speak a little more of Luthien.
“You absolutely should see it sometime. The forests of Luthien are beautiful.” Zevulun glanced around them and smiled. “Not that Crossing Isle’s flora isn’t lovely in its own right, I suppose.” But horses didn’t mostly come here to sightsee, but to meet others. “But Luthien…” he trailed off briefly, looked thoughtful, then explained, “Luthien has a certain kind of peace that I haven’t felt on the other islands. Myself and my family have done well there.” It wasn’t said boastfully, but gratefully. Despite the sorrows they had faced (and there had been so many), Zevulun still felt he was better off than he had been years ago when just he and his sons had aimlessly wandered the Mainland.
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