A golden hued mare and her comrade, a painted stallion, had decided to take a little stroll together. It had been a while since the duo spent much time together. He had been doing patrols and honing skills while she tried to meet the newcomers of the growing kingdom. It was a bit of a relief to get away from those duties for the day, a change of scenery, especially with good company. She walked next to him, matching his stride as they were almost the same height, close enough they occasionally brushed shoulders. Their physical closeness a reflection of the emotional connection. She had bared her soul to her dear friend expecting anger or disapproval but instead he had been nothing but kind and supportive. The vegetation cast shadows, offering protection and coolness on the trail from their homeland. She travelled quietly for a little while, enjoying the atmosphere before speaking. “Thanks for coming, Jedi. I haven’t seen much of you lately, how have you been?” her tones low, relaxed. She listened with one auricle, feeling lazy in the heat. After he replied the trail gave way to the field, it’s tall grass still looking mostly lush among the golden pieces that were drying out. The creeks that ran through here could be thanked for that.  She made her way towards one to take a drink. Her dark lips touching the cool refreshing liquid. The current lending to a cleaner and colder aqua than if it had been stagnant in this heat. The bugs were worse in the open and they clung to the corners of her eyes on her still head as she drank. As she lifted her honey-hued cranium, one ear still on her companion, the other scanning the field, she noticed a lone mare. She thought about trying to splash Jedi and playfully running away but the heat deterred any action. Instead she looked to her confidante and gestured with her head to the interestingly roan coloured mare with a questioning look. The palomino wasn’t one to judge whether someone was good enough to be recruited but she waited for her friend’s approval before approaching.

She grinned at the pinto, it was so nice they were on the same page, in tune with each other. She followed his lead and nodded her head in a respectful greeting as they approached. There good intentions still seemed to startle the mare though and Ashara curiously wondered if the mare was deaf like her recent recruit and hence she didn’t hear them right away. Still she took a step back herself, to show there was no threat. “Sorry miss, we didn’t mean to startle you.” She said apologetically. The other mare’s snarky tone brought a bit of shock to the golden vixen. She actually hadn’t met anyone who was less than kind since entering Bequanna but she knew they existed. Her amber eyes scanned Jedi for his thoughts to the mares reaction. They came from a neutral kingdom where behaviour that aligned with the evil kingdoms wasn’t tolerated. Still, they had just startled the mare and everyone has an off day.

“Yes ma’am, that is why most come here, we were just being polite.” It was a formality to ask such a question. A kingdom surely wasn’t going to force claim someone. “We come from the Falls, it’s a neutral kingdom, quite beautiful, and it has a healing waters. Would you be interested in joining?” She glanced again at the painted steed, seeing if she had missed anything.

As the roan relaxed, so did the palomino mare, relieved it was just a misunderstanding. Although the others tones were curious, they were slightly abrupt too. The golden mare remembered back to her first day here, when a winged man had tried to court her. She herself still wasn’t entirely used to the mystics and the magic but it wasn’t as terrifying as that first day. She had never known of kingdoms either but now was loyally dedicated and a bit of a work-aholic much like her comrade. She had spent the majority of her life in solitude but those years seemed distant and the memories weak compared to the almost 2 years of kingdom life. She loved not having to belong to a stallion, to not have to be a brood mare in trade for protection, to be treated equally as a male counterpart in the same role. And she loved having a purpose. The hole she had was filled by the reward of a job well done and she had two dear friends she now could not imagine life without. Her life was great, she had few fears and those fears were only those of the kingdoms. A smile had unknowingly tugged at her lips as such thoughts ran through her mind. But she did not speak this time, she would allow her friend a turn. “Jedi?” She politely gestured. Swishing her flaxen tail at the flies landing on her flank and buzzing loudly behind her.