"Merrill," she chirps in response, ducking down to ruffle Barkley's ears for a moment herself. "And this is Barkley!"

The massive grey horse who has been dozing near them gets a gentle pat; he twitches an ear, but otherwise doesn't move. "And this is Honeysuckle, who thinks that carting about an aravel is awful work when compared to being a war horse, the great silly thing."