He was new here. So very new and so very unsure. Even the questions that so often came easy to his tongue stayed squeezed in his throat. He slipped in late, just in time to hear the naming of people he didn't know to positions he didn't understand and the laying down of laws that burned sourly in his gut. What god were they even following? He people had little to say of gods. Their ancestors watched over them, and the wind had created them. But it was still only the wind, a force of nature with no true mind or will. Nerves twitched the shimmering gold of his coat and he kept his pale eyes downcast, watching the horses around him with furtive glances beneath snowy veils of lashes. The reactions around him seemed largely positive, though it was hard to read bodies he did not know. Was the cock of an ear a sign of irritation or simply a turning of the attention to another source? A shaking a head disapproval, or momentary distraction?
Wide nostrils flared as the slim stallion gave a soft puff of breath and he sidled a little closer to the wall until his haunches brushed stone. His hooves set down with care to avoid untoward noise. A prayer next? Uncertain about this whole ritual, he hoped that being in the back of the crowd would save him any embarrassment. For now he needed to watch and learn and find his place in this new home. There were those here who reminded him a little of the horses he had grown up around yet they seemed sharper somehow. At least he was close to the exit. As soon as this was over he could get out of the confined space and into the open air in the hopes that it would clear his head and chase away the nagging doubts and insecurity that preyed on the edges of his mind. And maybe he would find someone who wouldn't mind answering some of the questions locked behind his closed lips.
