Leander’s brow furrowed as the girl fumbled through her response to his question. Was she an orphan? What did she mean when she said she could take a nap and ask if she could go searching with him? All of this certainly seemed to make sense to Xero, but it made much less sense to Lee. Still, he felt uncomfortable to know that she was alone. Aside from these few friends she mentioned, it sounded as though she always had been.
After quick consideration, he cleared his throat and leaned down to her level, meeting her gaze as he spoke. “In that case, you’d be very welcome to come with me.” There was something almost quizzical in his smile, for he remained a little confounded by this small yet vibrant soul. Ironically, neither of them knew that their mothers had grown up together in the Jungle, not only as best friends but as near-sisters; in fact, Leander would have recognized Quark’s name in a heartbeat, but given Xero’s current state they were both quite oblivious to the connection.
“How about this,” he began, “I’ll do some asking around to get my bearings straight, and then from there we can head out. Does that sound all right to you?” Leander wasn’t deterred by the prospect of having Xero along. Her company wouldn’t interfere with his search – and considering the strange elements she’d added to their conversation, the winged stallion was of a mind that perhaps something might jog the girl’s memory along the way.
