Jay listened, his foot cocked in a relaxed position which allowed him to sway with the flow of the water. It wasn't the first time he had encountered a solo-wanderer like this, but her mannerisms intrigued him. She didn't seem avoidant, but her words carried a sort of mystique with them that made him wonder if the true meaning of her words lay below the surface.
When she asked why he was travelling alone, he turned back towards her to answer, only to get blindsided by a wave that was slightly taller than the rest. The salt quickly got in his eyes and nose, and he sputtered and snorted as he tried to finish his turn. One awkward cough later and he had almost finished collecting his thoughts. "Well, it's kind of a long story. He thought about how his mother had rejected him at birth, abandoning him and hiding him away for as long as she could as he was the offspring of the previous herd stallion. Alone on his own for long before he was supposed to have been, then found by a surrogate. Another mare with a foal his age. His first real friend. He still longed for her sometimes, and the summer days they spent splashing in the cool freshwater of the high mountain lakes. How he was cared for by the mares of the Ridge, but never truly accepted because of his sex. Then, how he left. Well that actually would sum up his life pretty well. He glanced at the mare to start his story again, hoping she hadn't been off-put by the salty interruption.
He decided to start with the question she had directly asked first. "My mom abandoned me as a foal and I was raised by the warriors in the Peak. Since I grew up, they had to kick me out and so I started to wander. I guess that's supposed to be normal for a stallion my age, but...I can't say it's my favorite." He looked carefully to see her reaction. He had never shared with strangers before about his past, but they had never asked. Thus, he really didn't have any practice and he was hoping that it wasn't too obvious to the playful mare.