A smile threatens to break over his lips, but Martyr manages not to show any visible sign of humor derived from her comment about the stallions he assumes are native to the islands. He meant to fully follow her gaze to the pool so that he was polite and didn't stare. Something about her, however, drew his gaze back prematurely. His blue eyes flickered across her face and to the golden brown of her body. Martyr had only noticed the stripes on her knees a heartbeat later, which were hardly visible in the light, before looking down at the water.
Patiently, the painted stallion waited for her to decide what happened. He had intruded on her, and, while by accident, she had been here first. His dark ears twist toward her at the sound of a clearing throat, and that is when he lifted his gaze from the water again. It pleased the blue roan to find a smile on her lips, even if it was only there as a courtesy. She looked lovely while it lingered and would continue to be so when it finally left.
The bay dun mare offered her name -- Mirella -- and a drink of the water, gesturing toward the pool with a nod of her head. Martyr glanced toward the pool a moment and back to her. He accepted with a nod of his head before speaking. "Thank you, Mirella. A drink would be lovely." With that, the painted stallion cautiously entered her space, taking several paces forward to finally drop his lips to the pool's surface. She had been right, of course: cool and refreshing indeed.
The overo closed his eyes as he drank deeply. His thirst, though small at first, now astounded him. Had he had anything since leaving the Harbor? How lost in his thoughts had he been? Once sated, his head lifted. Water droplets still clung to his whiskers as he turned to her, offering another polite nod of gratitude. "I'm Martyr," he revealed casually, "one of the 'rare ones' as it were." A short chuckle thrummed in his throat. "I am sorry for encroaching on your evening. I meant nothing by it. I just don't know the area as well as I probably should."
blue roan overo mustang mutt stallion . 16.1 hands