Something blooms with pleasure in his chest at the softness of her voice and the outward steadiness she conveys. Then he sees her eyes flick to something behind him. His white face turns to follow the mare's gaze, and he finds a stallion. He is as deep and dark as the night, but ultimately remains silent. For the moment, anyway.
"They are beautiful, are they not," he questioned, turning his white-marked face in the direction of the cascade. His pale eyes went back to her, to her face, to try and detect anything she might wordlessly convey about having company. Some mares didn't want company, and that was alright. Martyr knew he wouldn't want any of his time alone to be intruded upon if he had specifically sought it out. She speaks then, and Martyr returns his direct gaze to her.
It gladdens something in him to see someone as sure and seemingly happy as she is. Water. What a nice thing to be excited about. He wasn't sure he could even remember the last time he'd felt something like that. The blue roan is pleased with her answer and her joke, which shows in the soft smile that appears on his lips. She greets the other stallion, then names herself. Martyr shifts to some imagined "side" that way the other male may join them if he liked. Talking to a mare with another stallion alongside is not foreign to him. That was much the way of things in the lands of his birth.
Duckie asks after themselves. After a breath, the blue roan introduces himself. "I'm called Martyr." He has to stop himself from immediately spouting where he lived. That had been the custom back home. Mares could wander to a particular spat of land to specifically to talk to stallions to find a home. Things were not quite that way here from what he had experienced so far. This could be a simple visit for her, making their interaction potentially quite casual. He would have to treat it as such. "I'm fairly new to these islands. What about you.. both?"
His pale eyes glance in the direction of the other male, but Martyr does not turn toward him. He had been speaking at a level that could be heard by the there if he was truly wanting to participate. Now would be the time. The blue roan stallion was pleased thus far with how things were going. It had only been a few moments into this interaction, yes, but it as a big step for him. A true sign that a new normal might truly be possible.
blue roan overo mustang mutt stallion . 16.1 hands