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Though Nasreen hadn’t intended to surprise her fellow wanderer, it was clear that she had. She stood watching with a trace of guilt as the mare looked up and took her in with wide eyes, watching her in a manner very similar to a jackrabbit in the brush that she had startled earlier. For a moment Nasreen feared that she had upset her, but then the stranger broke into a friendly smile. Internally, the copper-stained girl breathed a sigh of relief when the dark mare called back to her with a greeting of her own. She introduced herself as Evahna—or as she added, Eva for short—and Nasreen dipped her head politely, happy to have made a new acquaintance. “A pleasure,” the winged mare replied with a smile that mirrored her companion’s.
There was a brief lull in the conversation after names and pleasantries were exchanged, and in the pause, Nasreen felt the sort of settling that comes with two recent strangers becoming accustomed to one another’s presence. The mare was not much one for letting talk stagnate, but she reminded herself that she had already interrupted Eva once today and that it would be rather embarrassing to do it again. As long as the silence did not stretch too thin, she would wait and allow the quieter mare to speak before she unleashed her chatter upon her.
As it turned out, she did not have to wait long. “I hope this doesn’t seem weird,” Evahna began, “but you have no idea how amazing it feels for me to see a being after so long of being alone.” Nasreen tilted her head inquisitively at the taller lady, a question written in the crinkle of her grey eyes. What did Eva mean? The statement left room for uncertainty, and though the smaller mare may not have initially given it much thought, the way that Eva had prefaced it…why would it be strange? Had she been alone for the day, much as Nasreen had been, or had she been by herself for much longer? “What do you mean?” the girl asked with a puzzled frown. “How long have you been alone in the wood?”
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