He appears like some divine figure along the shore, the very opposite of inconspicuous. Even as the little mare watches her dragon dive and play in the waves, it is impossible not to notice the effigy of a man wandering along the shore.  Even the faintest glimmer of flames is enough to draw her wandering mind back from the great distances it had already traveled - far across some other sea than the one that laps at her ankles.  If Najya hadn’t known better she would have thought that the figure of Cathun walking the beach had been a divine manifestation of the Sun himself, not a boy who’d been set aflame - cursed to wander Helovia ablaze. Najya had seen a lot in her short life. She’d seen kingdoms fall. Innocents slaughtered.  She’d seen Gods die. But she’d never seen anything like this. 

Like him. 

Because as he drew nearer it was evident that this was a living, breathing creature not a divine apparition or a mere wisp of flame.  Her eyes drift over him curiously, carefully, but she does not flee or move away.  She chances another glance at the dragon still mindlessly circling the waves before the stranger draws to a halt a comfortable distance from her side.  If she had learned anything at all over her years, it was to withhold judgment.  All the myths and legends she had tirelessly studied had taught her this, and her experience had driven the point home. Had she simply judged Shahan, her long dead mate, on the rumors that surrounded him she would have never gotten to know the person behind the rumors. Would have never become his queen. Would have lived a life without knowing his love. All that was gone now, but the experience remained and that she treasured. 

The stranger spoke then, a name that was unfamiliar. But he had clearly noticed A’mal’s gift to her bonded floating idly past on the tide, and 

Najya, who’d always done a poor job of keeping her feelings from her face, couldn’t help but smile.  “I don’t,” she remarked smoothly, looking up at the stranger with a small smile on her dark lips, “Though I can’t say I’ve ever tried...or had the inclination to do so.”

“She does, however,” she said, nodding to the little dragon who had abruptly turned towards shore when she realized that her bonded’s attention had been captured by someone other than herself.  A’mal, entirely unperturbed by the fact that this stallion was quite literally ablaze, landed in the shallow waters between the two equines.  Catching sight of the three fish that her bonded had pushed aside, the dragon quickly bounded forward and caught one in her jaws before looking back over at the stranger.  Curiosity bubbled in her chest and, as such, Najya’s mind. 

With what could hardly be described as grace, the tiny dragon bounded back towards Cathun and carefully placed the fish at his feet before looking up at the burning man with wide, golden eyes.

>Friend?< Najya heard, spoken into her mind - louder than a whisper but in a voice that was undeniably separate from her own.  She looked down to see the little dragon looking at her intently for a mere moment until her gaze flicked away towards the burning stallion, before nosing the fish even closer to his hooves.  It was the first word A’mal had spoken through their bond, and appropriate choice considering the little dragon’s naturally extraverted manner. 

“She likes you,” she felt as if she was stating the obvious since A’mal still sat patiently at the stallion’s feet, but made the remark nonetheless.  “I’m Najya and she’s A’mal. It’s good to meet you Cathun,” there was something definitevely foreign about her voice, but it was warm too. 

She was quiet for a moment before she found her voice again, and this time the words were quieter, reserved. “The flames...do you feel them?” she asked, with a genuine note of curiosity paired with concern in her voice. “I’m sorry I know that’s rude of me. Please don’t feel obligated to answer.” She shook her head as if she were disappointed in herself for letting the words escape, causing the little disks on her headpiece to jingle. Magic in her homeland had been...different than the magic here in Helovia. Since coming to this place she had seen beautiful things, terrible things, and everything in between…

But nothing quite like him.