The line between brave and foolish is impossibly thin - either one could be correct, it simply depends on your angle. More often, the two merely coincide as they so frequently do amongst the young. Bella's confidence certainly stems from the latter - equal parts brave and foolish - as she approaches the rather obviously fit stallion. Perhaps she is simply young enough that fear isn't a concept that exists. It doesn't even flit through her mind that he could hurt her, kill her even, or that maybe he'd been waiting for her to wake before making his move to take her out. Fortunately, her naive and friendly nature is far from misguided in this particular situation. There is nothing to suggest any level of aggression in his stance and, in fact, he appears quite friendly. Eyes of peridot fearlessly connect with the dark man's silver gaze as the answer to her question falls from his lips. His words are genuine and kind, voice deep but there is no threat behind it - only curiosity. "You watched over me." she states rather plainly, her youthful voice still just as warm and just as inviting as it had been ever since she woke up to find him standing there. If she were older she might have found him creepy, might have tried running away instead but she is still young and she's been without parental guidance for most of her life. Bella hasn't learned about the scary creeps of the world and unless something changes with her parents, she'll be left to learn it all the hard way - if she survives long enough to learn more than one lesson. "Why?" the pale filly asks curiously, with the slightest tilt of her head.

It is without question or prompting that they stallion offers up his own name and title, introducing himself with a tender smile. His mention of the Throat strikes a chord of familiarity in the young girl but she can't quite place why it does. "The Throat is the sandy place, right?" Bella asks, hopeful despite herself. Yet his next two questions are enough to lower her spirits - even if she couldn't exactly explain why. "I don't know how long..." she murmurs, her voice a bit softer than before and her ears droop just enough to really make her look forlorn.  "Daddy's been gone for awhile and I tried to follow Mamae when she left the sandy place but I got lost and couldn't find my way back." It's completely true, of course, but the thought of daddy and mamae is enough to cause her to furiously blink back the hot tears threatening to flood her vibrant peridot gaze. Bella's throat tightens from the sudden burst of emotion and though she attempts to gulp it down, the filly's voice is still somewhat shaky when she finally remembers to introduce herself. "I'm Bellanaris." she adds, her introduction punctuated by a lonely little sniffle. Without being fully aware of it, the girl begins to step closer to him - longing for some sort of fatherly contact.