She makes eye contact with him and Minah cannot deny that she is fascinated for a moment. From a sheltered childhood surround by mostly her family, to having been raised by the Donietas alongside her sister, males outside of her family were a thing not commonly seen by the dappling mare. Her vow had been easy to take, she had held it up and pressed it against her petite breast without question. It did mean she did not actively ever seek out those of the opposite sex, and they certainly did not make their way into the desert if they could help it.
There had been nothing to prepare her for rudeness.
Standoffish, sure, quiet, sure, even boisterous, but rude— Minah is nearly struck dumb on the spot. Brown eyes grow wide and she looks around for her brother who is here, but not here, here, and suddenly she wishes her silver knight were here to save her, but he doesn't come.
And so Minah is left with the dragon in his stead.
His words drop through the silence like guillotine and Minah physically moves her body back and away from him. Her heart fluttering, the curiosity no longer there, instead replaced by a nervous shaking that rattles her bones. While the Donietas had not been male hating (after all Jay was there often as was Tarian) but it was expressed by Valda that there was a certain safety among female and away from the male kind.
“I was looking for my brother.” Tarian. She is hesitant though, what if this stranger does not know her brother is here? What if he was looking for Tarian for all the wrong reasons? While her childhood was sheltered, and her life never threatened within the Donietas, the family stories have taught her to be cautious, if not exceedingly so. “Are you from here?” She asks him. “Do you live in Loess?” She wants to ask, are you safe? But she knows lies are just the easy as the truth for those who do not put stock into it. She cannot help herself though, she is desperate for information regarding her sibling.
“I’m Tarian’s sister.”
@[Ashhal]