It felt as though the waves were counting the moments of measuring silence between them in an attempt to compensate for the stallions apparent frozen nature, as if to reassure Leeka that time was in fact in motion. She had begun to feel a bit self conscious under the unusual weight of his gaze, shuffling a bit to discard the looming atmosphere. The particular hue of his eyes, in fact, were beginning to feel more akin to carved orbs of ice then actual eyes the more she looked at them, their depths seeming to reflect back at her instead of within. How strange. She even wondered if they saw her at all.

When he didn't immediately respond back Leeka began to think that he hadn't heard her and was about to repeat herself when the stranger finally spoke, pausing, freezing for just a moment before actually doing so. Her ears swivel as she thought, considering his words while trying again in vain to identify his scent as subtle as she could and instead only getting the brine that pervaded the air heavier than a cloak, adding a tinge of frustration to her current mood. It didn't escape her notice that the leopard stallion seemed to be trying to decipher the same about her as well, but if he came to any conclusion she couldn't tell and doubted she ever would.

The idea of other herds and entities besides was still a new concept to Leeka and one that she struggled to understand in its full scope, its politics in particular. In truth, first impression aside, it was the horn the stallion bore on his head that gave Leeka a slight pause. Flashbacks from the last herd meeting run through her memory, the words of the unicorns of the Basin and how distrust obviously ran through the veins of the Edge at those affiliated to it at the forefront of her mind. Leeka couldn't bare the thought of breaching conduct and possibly endangering her new home by allowing him free entry into the herdlands, but nor did she have any ill will toward the stranger. The suspicion was an unnatural feeling to Leeka, like an unjust crime, and she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. It didn't feel heathy at all. Of course, at this point she had no way of knowing if he even belonged to the Basin, this could all be for nothing and what a fool she'd feel then, but it was still something to keep in mind.

Only time would tell.

" Are you from the Worlds Edge as well then?" she asked in earnest, tilting her head in kind as she did so. " I'm rather new myself and I haven't met many, but I know I haven't seen you before. What is your name? Mine is Leeka."

@[Mauja]