"Oh, I have far more than I can eat," she said, using her knife to slice the apple in half. She handed him half the apple, half the cheese, and more than half of the bread. Her smile was light as he accepted her offer, and then she took a bite of apple. Her eyes met his and she murmured, "You're very kind to call me lovely." Rose tinted her cheeks and she sighed into another bite, and she smoothed her hands over either side of the cloth.

"This is also a good excuse to slow down," she admitted, "I approve of you stopping completely." She laughed and then nibbled daintily on the bread.

"Wasn't being kind, you are lovely. " Pony winked as he flashed his charming smile.

"And I am grateful. Best payment I ever got for giving a lift." Pony laughed lightly and took the apple half in one hand. "I find it so much easier to eat when I don't have the rocking or having to steer. Besides, I think we shouldn't be the only ones to enjoy a meal..."

He hopped off the cart and went around to offer the apple half to his donkey who took it ravenously. He sat back beside the woman and started into his remaining portion of food. "Thank you. This is very tasty. I normally get whatever is on special at the pubs or selling on the street. But I guess that happens when you have to live cheaply."

Pearl did not reply that time, her blush said it all. She was most certainly not the snooty type or the kind that lived on compliments regardless of social status or otherwise. She watched in amusement as his noble steed ate the half of an apple greedily. "Simple fare is always nice, isn't it? Rich fare can be too much for the pallet. I hope my father has some mango for me soon. He is a merchant and sometimes brings home lovely things like that, coconuts, and other things."

She paused and tilted her head, "If you had the opportunity to try coconut, would you?" Lordy, he was so very easy to talk to, not to mention easy to pay attention to. He had this charm about him she could not point out. If he stuck around, she wouldn't mind befriending the man.

Pony listened to her and rose his brow, he didn't even know what a mango was. By the conversation it was some exotic food. He gave a low whistle and laughed as she mentioned things her father brought home and gave an emphatic nod. "Oh my, sounds like you get to enjoy quite the best life has to offer."

He gave his best friend a gentle pat on the head before returning to her side to finish his bit of food. "Of course. I like to try new things. I do not know if many others wouldn't. If I see you around town after dropping you off, you'll have to tell me what it tastes like." Pony gave that smile. It was like a shield to stop pretty girls in their tracks and make them defenseless to him. If he were after more than money, he could truly be a dangerous fellow.

"Perhaps I can do better and bring a mango with me with the assumption I will see you again before I go back to school. That is if you decide you wish to stay for a time in town... You are a traveler, yes? Almost like a gypsy. A nomad?" She finished her half an apple and chewed thoughtfully for a time before saying, "Do you ever feel alone on your journeys? I do sometimes when I am traveling. I miss home while I am away, but you mustn't tell anyone I said as much... It wouldn't do for my family to hear that I miss them," that was said in humor and playfulness. "I do rather like taking the train, I must say... the rhythm of the tracks make the journey more peaceful. Ooh, I am prattling now, do forgive me... it's just that it's quite easy to speak to you."

Pony gave a small chuckle as he listened to her and waved off her worries. "I am not as such. I do enjoy traveling, not because I can not find a home but because I feel I am still needed to help people elsewhere." He let himself be quiet a moment and enjoy the gentle weather for a moment. "I don't get lonely. I meet wonderful folks in every town, and for most of my journey I actually had my sister travel with me. She stayed behind though recently, finding a home with a doctor. I am hoping I do not begin to feel lonely without her, but time will tell."

Pony looked at her and patted her shoulder. "I enjoy the train too, but it would never do for myself now. I like to wander the roads and see where they lead me, I never have a set destination in mind."

"Such freedom," she said softly... She wondered if she could ever be free from such trappings, but expectations from a wealthy father and mother were strict. Her papa had been in the military for a time before he took over for her grandmother, sometimes papa was strict, specifically with his daughters if not his sons, and discipline was important. She wondered if her papa ever thought to go where the wind would tell him and how that would have changed things.

"So your home is the open road? How is it? I can imagine there is peace about it."

"Ah, it is definitely free. But it isn't for everyone. You don't always feel like traveling when the sky is pouring rain, the wind is blowing hard, or its snowing so thick you can barely see. Sometimes it feels like it'd be nice to have a home to curl up by a fire and sleep through the storms. "

He gave her a slightly playful smile. 'It is dangerous too. Besides the weather, you can have robbers or maybe you try to rest and there's an adder by the road to scare your poor animal. But once you get used to it and know how to live through such things, it is wonderful. Every town and every day is a surprise."

"What was your favorite surprise?" she asked softly, wiping daintily at the corners of her lips with a lacy handkerchief. "I would say this is, for me, the most interesting thing to happen in my life. I mean... meeting an interesting fellow on my journey to go home and getting helped to procrastinate. Thank you for that, by the by."

Pony seemed in deep thought and scratched at his cheek idly. "Oh I don't know. Might be the circus I once discovered making camp between towns. They let me stay at their camp for the night, but I suspect they worried i might try to take something as the always had someone keeping an eye on me. But I got a free show seeing them practice tricks and the like. "

He laughed lightly and nodded. "You don't need to thank me ,I am happy to do it. And I'm honored to be considered so amazing. I like to think of myself as just a humble man with his humble steed traveling the country to do my best helping others with my medicines. "