As expected, Théadan was incredulous over the name of her horse. It was often the reaction of those who first learned the name of her horse if they knew Khluri and Navia’s reaction was always the same. She shrugged, having no real explanation for her odd actions when she was a teenage other than, “I think it’s a pretty word.” The question of how old she had been drew a laugh from her though, and Navia looked up at him with a grin, knowing he was probably expecting her to have been younger to come up with such a basic name, “I was sixteen when my grandfather gave him to me.” She didn’t regret the name one bit; it reminded her of such a wonderful memory in her life that Navia had always been happy with what she had named her horse.<br/><br/>They were near the stables when Wyndagar became resistant to joining them in the building. While she watched Théadan help him refocus, her heart went out to the horse. She knew it had been hard on Wyndagar to travel by ship for so long and she could tell he was itching to be the active horse he had been in Mes’Mo’Tan. She almost suggested Théadan give Wyn some time in the field before they went into the stables, but he was already coaxing Wyndagar into reluctantly following them once more. It pulled at her heart and Navia was frowning softly as they stepped into the shade of the simple stable. They would just make sure to be fast in choosing a horse to buy; then Wyndagar would not only have the chance to stretch his legs, but would have a companion while doing so.<br/><br/>Several horses were milling about in the haven of the cool stable. She recognized several Khluri breeds immediately, those bred down for speed, some stocky for farm work, and others in between for stamina. She was happy to see the assortment of colors indicative of Khluri horses and the tan-blonde of one horse caught her eye until Théadan leaned over and pointed out one nuzzling through the hay on the floor beside a chestnut gelding. “Really?” She asked quietly, intrigued. She had seen the coloration before, the pale white, but what she had not seen before was the gray mane and tail accompanying the horse. Curious, she slid past Théadan go inspect the interestingly colored horse.<br/><br/>“<i>Kya!</i>” called a voice from the small hayloft above, causing Navia to pause and look up to see teenage boy smiling down at her and waving. He then looked to Wyndagar and Théadan, his eyes steadying on Wyn for a long moment. His focus was no longer on Navia, but her companions. Soon the boy was hurrying down a small ladder, seeing the prospect of a sale for an impressive horse. “Hello! Are you here to sell?”<br/><br/>Happy to not have the boy distracting her, Navia finished closing the distance between her and the horse that had caught her eye. Her approach caught both horses’ attentions, so she took the time to greet them both in Khluri tradition. Once she had bowed to them both, Navia gave the chestnut a pat, but her eyes were only for the pale horse curiously studying her. Dark eyes met equally dark, but larger ones as Navia smoothed a hand up the horse’s snout. Navia saw no hesitation from the horse, no shyness. She was female and built for endurance. She was of a medium built, not large enough for farming but too big for sprinting, and as Navia ran her hand along the horse’s neck so she knew her whereabouts, she could see the horse had been well cared for. She was also not quite as white as previously thought; upon closer inspection, Navia could see speckles of grey in the horse’s coat, a curiosity she had not seen previously. Her lower legs closer to her hooves showed it the most, slightly grayer than the rest of her body. After making a slow circle around the animal, Navia knew this was the horse she wanted.<br/><br/>“Do you want to come with us?” She asked quietly when she came to face the horse again, hand gently scratching beneath the horse’s chin. A small head toss was the response, which Navia took as a yes. Grinning, she reached for the decorated Khluri reins. They were black leather with purple fabric woven through all the way up to the bridle and through it as well. After a testing pull and the horse obligingly following her, Navia turned back to join Théadan with a bright smile. “I like her,” she announced, “Will you bring Wyndagar closer to see if he likes her too?” Then her attention turned to the stableboy, “What can you tell me about her?”<br/><br/>The stableboy gave the horse a glance, but he also continued to eye Wyndagar longingly. Navia briefly wondered if he wanted the horse for himself and not for the stable, but she said nothing as he began to speak. “Her name is Varinata, but we’ve been calling her Vari,” the boy explained, glancing at the horse with a smile, “She was sold to us by an older couple who were moving and could not bring her with them. She’s about eight and does well with riders. She’s a little on the stubborn side, but otherwise has been well-behaved in the few days she’s been here.” And before Navia could ask, the boy finished with, “She’s worth five golds. I'll add a saddle for five additional silvers.”<br/><br/>“Five…” Navia looked first at the horse, then to Théadan. She honestly had no idea if that was a good price or a bad, nor how much money they even had anymore, but she knew a horse had to be expensive. And that she could probably borrow more money from the Talujas once they arrived, so she looked to him for an idea of what to do. “What do you think?” In truth, she had her heart set on the horse. She liked the way the horse looked, how she had looked her in the eye without fear or worry, she even liked her name. Yet Navia knew their reality may not allow her to have what she wanted. In an attempt to make sure Théadan knew she would accept a 'no' if that was what he needed to say, she sent him a playful smirk before giving him a way to deny her should he need it, "Is she too ostentatious for our travels?" There was no doubt the horse would attract attention with her beauty.