Common

True to its tempestuous nature, Salem was once again shifting under the winds of change. The Badlands answered to a new king, and the chimera stallion Draco had once called neighbor had vanished from the Desert. The void he'd left had been eagerly filled by none other than his own grandmother. Draco not yet met Nyimara, his perception of her built entirely on whatever anecdotes his mother fed him, which had been few and far between. He knew she was powerful, well respected, and had a reputation on the islands. Truly, it sounded as if she lived up to the moniker she'd been assigned, just as her daughter - his mother - had lived up to hers. It stoked his own ambition, gave him a sense of something to work towards: to be as fierce and as feared as his own kin.

Still, despite the faint flicker of admiration he carried, Nyimara's motions were of little interest to the newly crowned king. Just as his father before him, Draco held no intention of bowing to her nor any other ruler who called Salem home. It was a wild place, and Draco intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Yet Draco knew the hills needed more than his will to thrive - to survive. His father had been lax in his efforts to breathe life into the Hills, opting to capture whatever pretty thing happened to fly his way rather than go out and seek treasures on farther shores. Draco would not shy away from the opportunity of adventure, nor the chance to see his kingdom grow like a carefully cultivated seed.

The young stallion had not had much experience with mares outside his father's herd, nor had he ever set hoof off Salem until now. But neither fact stopped the ambitious boy from venturing forth into the Commons with the confidence only a young king could carry, his dark head held high and an eager spring in his step as he pulled himself from the sea. The climate here was much milder than Salem, the gentle summer breeze feeling like a cool balm against his skin compared to the harsh winds of his desert homeland.

For some time he wandered, dark eyes flickering from one body to another. The opportunities here were seeming slimmer than he would have hoped - most mares had already been approached by one stallion or another, and while it would be all too easy to insert himself smoothly into any given conversation, it would surely leave a poor impression upon whatever mare he was trying to impress. Poor impressions meant a poor chance of getting her to come home with him. No, if he was going to be successful in his search he would need to find someone less... preoccupied.

At last that someone appeared to him, a pretty mare marked in bold splashes of black and white, her delicate head downturned towards the sweet summer blossoms that sprout at her hooves. Draco took stock of her as he approached, his eyes roaming greedily over each svelte muscle beneath her patterned coat. He settled himself smoothly at her side, far enough away that he might avoid any teeth or hooves should she take a dislike to his presence, but close enough to murmur a hello, a cocksure grin sliding across his lips. "You like flowers? They'd look prettier in your hair."