Common

Sihtric watched the tension coil in her shoulders and a sharp suspicion ignite in her dark eyes as she studied him. He understood her caution, but noted with relief that it didn't manifest in pinned ears or bared teeth. Instead, she allowed him to settle beside her beneath the sprawling tree branches. His tail lazily brushed his snow-dusted flanks as his dark-rimmed ears strained to catch her words as they tumbled from her whiskered lips: "Rethe of the Bay."

He'd only visited Tinuvel once, a fleeting trip as a yearling when his father had taken him north. His father had insisted he understand the Inlet, and the place where Father had been born.

But all he recalled was the biting wind and his own deep dislike of the place. He didn't share his kin's enthusiasm for icy raids and their lust for conquest. He’d listened, of course, wide-eyed, but a persistent feeling within him insisted he was meant for something more than plunder and taking. He attributed this feeling to his mother's gentle, kind spirit, a part of her he held onto tightly.

Her next question drew him from his thoughts, a smile playing on his lips."Well, Paradise... then the Desert, and now?" He paused, the smile widening, "the Badlands," he announced, puffing out his chest with pride.

He clearly reveled in the Badlands, in the deep, jagged coulees that carved through the earth, the resilient cacti, and the land's inherent magic. Paradise's humidity had been stifling and he hated all the whirring, disgusting bugs. The Desert had been too hot. But the Badlands? It held an enchantment on the snow speckled stallion.

"Have you ever been to the Badlands?" he asked, tilting his head, his glacial blue eyes searching her dark gaze. He thought he saw a spark of curiosity flicker in her serious expression.

...An enchanting land for the mysterious, enchanting girl.