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Roque was indeed simply standing there. There was a nice breeze right here and he was taking advantage. Out and away from the caves, no little ones chewing on his tail or asking him to explain why the trees grew so tall or why they shouldn't try to eat pine cones.

His daydreaming idyll came to an end when he heard hoofbeats and someone headed toward him at the run. Ear swiveling in her direction first, he turned to face the oncoming mare, ears perked. He'd let her tell him if he should be worried or getting ready to take to the sky. "Are you all right? Is everything okay?" He didn't see anyone chasing her, but you could never be too sure.

He was a ... well. Yes. He blinked twice, then very slowly started to smile.
"The last time I checked, at least, I was a stallion, yes. I think I'd notice if that changed." He certainly would. And he wouldn't be happy about it. He relaxed at least, and smiled more easily. "A stallion called Roque, as a matter of fact. What's your name? If you're not too out of breath to say..."

There were other stallions around, he knew, so she couldn't have raced all the way over just to make sure.

He chuckled and bobbed his head. "It's all right. It's better than seeing me, shrieking and turning around to run the other way, I think." Not a troll, not even a little bit of one, though he had his own secrets, come to that.

He stretched his wings a little, gave them a shake and refolded them against his sides. "Nobody chased me up here," he agreed. "It just seemed like a nice spot to stand a while. Quiet. And there was a breeze that was just right. Not too cold, not too warm. Not too hard. I don't even know what I was thinking about," he confessed. He chuckled again. "Definitely escaping the crowd. Who are you getting away from? Friends? Herd?"

"Family," he answered. They counted as both. "When things get loud and crazy, I think anywhere but where I am seems like the place to be.' He had a feeling she understood just what he meant. "And then I get out here, and I have some quiet to myself, and I start to wonder what I'm missing." He shook his head a little, smiling wryly at himself.

"Nek'mani, you said?" Why think about the thoughts running through his head when he had someone else to talk to? "That's a different sounding name. Does it mean something? I mean, I'm sure it does," he amended. "But does it mean something to you?"

A troll. "I've never met a troll before," he confessed. Clearly it was important to her, and it interested him. "And I've never met anyone with tusks. But..." He tilted his head and scuffed the ground with a hoof, a little embarrassed. "I think I'd like to. It must be...interesting to live with them."

And, since she'd confessed when he'd so baldly asked, he offered, "My father and uncle are blood-drinkers. Vampires. Not the same sort of teeth, I know." Still, it was something unusual that he could share.

He tipped an ear toward her when she deflated. He hadn't meant to dampen her mood or her spirits at all. "Maybe not so strange, if you're used to being around so many other soquili all the time. Quiet can be nice, but it's just not ...normal. Right?"

Roque shook his head. "No. No. Never had the taste for it." Or the need, though he didn't mention that part. No need to scare her off, after all. He'd rather not see the look she gave him become one of fear. "I stick to the usual things." Usual for him, at least. "Though Nikki, my brother, did dare me to eat a bird egg, once." He laughed at the memory. "I don't recommend it."

He nodded then. "I know exactly what you mean. And so, we come to the reason we both ended up here." He smiled. "Having someone to talk to is better than alone, though. At least today."

"Is that where the idea comes from?" Roque wondered. "I wasn't sure where Nikki got it. I don't think I've ever seen my family eat them otherwise. He must have overheard it somewhere." Brothers. They were always trying to pull one over on the other.

'We don't shout much, at home," he offered. "Of course, we live in caves. Can you imagine how loud that would be? I don't think our ears would ever stop ringing."