The mare lowered her head to me, and I felt sudden warmth come through me, as well as confusion. I knew that it was done as a sign of respect, but what had I done to deserve it? I was taken aback as she described to me where she would spend her nights, and it took me a moment to process what was going on. It had been so long since I had been in a herd, since I had actually been wanted that it was hard to actually take the kindness at face value. I wondered if she was pulling my leg, if she might be joking. She had been completely genuine so far, and so there was no need for me to be as skeptical as I was, but still I found myself questioning.

I watched her as I raised my head with wary eyes as I wondered to how to respond to her. What would be appropriate? How was I suppose to address her, here, in this place? Did I belong? Was this right? I began to second guess myself and I wondered if she could see it in my clear orb and the struggle on my features if she dared to look at me directly. I looked away, contemplating what I should do, pillars shuffling awkwardly as I ran over my options. I desperately wanted to stay here, to be welcomed, but my mind went back to the strange Oxy beast and what he was like and how he had treated me. That was the treatment I was much more familiar with, even if he had gone about it in a strange manner.

Finally, I whispered in coarse tones, "Is there any place you would like me, that would be appropriate for me to bed for the night? I'm not sure exactly the protocol you have for outsiders here. I will gladly simply go to the farthest reaches of your land if that is what is preferred." I didn't want to look miss Africa in the eye while speaking. It had been so long since I'd had such pleasantries, and I questioned if I was just dreaming again. This certainly wouldn't have been the strangest dream that had ever hurled around my cranium and bounced inside my brain.

I shuffled again, finally making a point to take note of the winged creature that had been following us. I wasn't sure why it had the intention of sticking so close to miss Africa, but this land was strange and perhaps that was part of the strangeness that had yet to be explained to me. There was a secondary one, I thought, but I couldn't quite see through the branches from the corner of my eye. After all, the avian wasn't my focus for the moment. Currently it was figuring out what to do with my situation. It wasn't that I wasn't grateful for the offer, it was simply that I feared should anyone see me they would bolt the other direction, or worse, curse me. I'd been alone far too long to deal with that kind of rejection after the hope that miss Africa had brought to me today.