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They arrive, the flock of birds who inhabit this barren landscape, come to gawk and inspect the newcomers through a lens of curious eyes and good intent. Kali paddles awkwardly through the deeper waters when the first pulls alongside, a lovely young mare draped in innocuous blue who dips her head down to taste the cool water. This simple act of fearless trust is something I confess not to have expected; it takes me by surprise, and for a moment I simply watch the smaller creature drink, dark eyes subtly tracing the lines of her pale form.
"Sinhue." Her name rolls off my tongue and into the space between us, an echo of the cheerful voice spoken softly by my low alto. "That is a lovely name." I am halted in my aim to offer back my own title by the sudden stomping of authoritative feet upon the packed and broken sand, and suddenly there is another, a stallion this time who smells of the expansive desert and some amount of discontent. He sizes us up and I watch in return - I remember this one from the meeting we'd just adjourned, a soldier of some sort with an iron eye.
It would appear he does not remember me. Ah well, I can't say I blame him - not sure I would have remembered me, given the circumstances. There were many names passed around, many scents and many faces. I cannot say I remember his name, that it hasn't fled my mind like a wayward ghost, if ever I heard it at all. It's alright, though; he seems more than willing to give it up again. Children, child; they pass out names like candy, the secrets of themselves given up on silver platters, offerings of identity unchecked by caution. Now I am in debt to them both. I must give my name, or I shall truly be thought an infidel and a grump.
Or perhaps this one shall do it for me.
Kaj is coming, Kali tells me, even as the second pegasus strides into our midst. And oh, is she a spirited one; she remembers my name, it seems, this damsel of the night sky whose appearance rather takes my breath away. Daughter of the moon, could you be my kindred, or does your outward beauty mean to beguile me, to take my fancy and turn it on itself? Starchild, I saw you in the meeting and I was smitten; I see you now and my admiration blooms.
But forgive me, I am growing far more romantic than I ever meant to, and for no particular reason other than a smattering of stars.
She chastises Levi with a snapping tongue, and then, in an instant, she disappears, sprung into the sky from whence she came and gone for good from this mortal world. She leaves, and I follow her with a wry smile, even as Kaj finally reaches our little group, a giant winged brute on a quite ironic prowl. He's worried, Kali informs me; she's climbed from the water and now licks herself dry upon the shore. He thinks you aren't safe. A half-smile creeps across my lips, amused by this entire mess of heightened emotions and unnecessary stress. The silliness of children is only entertaining to me now. Are they really so ardent, or am I simply that old?
"She spoke true," I say soothingly, calmly to my remaining companions. Beside me Kaj has arrived, the brush of his wing an offer of safety to one who is under no sort of threat. Levi has only asked for my name, not sought to expel me; I would behave the same in his hooves. Still, I shift subtly against Kaj's side, leaning in only for a moment to thank him for the gesture before letting my weight fall back onto four legs. "My name is Rishima; this devil is Kali." At the sound of her name my brat looks up, chirping brightly at the strangers before leaping into the air to land gracefully upon Kaj's back. She has no qualms with physical attachment, not the way the rest of us do. She loves Kaj as she loves everyone in her flock; and as though to accent this fact she drapes herself across him lazily, yawning as she braces for a nap in the sun.
Kaj gives his own name in a breath of thunder, and I let it settle before speaking again. I'd hoped he might give a lovely spiel as he did at the meeting, but alas, it seems that the roll of informant has been left in my hands this time.
"We are visiting from the Edge; I must say, your home is lovely." A peace offering, a smooth placation to soothe ruffled feathers and ease heavy hearts. I pass my eyes over them all, a glittering warning in their onyx depths. Play nice now; we did not come here to fight.
I wish Kri or Onni would arrive. I am not the best at diplomacy, and far from the best at people. I wish I had simply left to explore the desert once more. It would be far more pleasant than this debacle.
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