As he stared into her multi-coloured eyes, Gaucho realized something. There was a light coming from her. His stormy gaze rose over the highlighted hills and valleys of her face, to the halo which crested above her wings. How had he never noticed it? When the two had been together before it hadn't been night time ... perhaps the light was so faint that it was merely lost in the high noon sun that had been over them? That was plausible enough, but it didn't resonate with Gaucho. Starring at her, watching the way the light gently cascaded and rippled down her features, Gaucho fought to place whatever it was that made him blind to this new addition.

Then he realized.

It was because it suited her so perfectly. When he had landed the halo had been there, had it not? Perhaps the reason he had never taken notice was because it already seemed a part of her, even though she was displaying it for the first time (at least to him). The Wildfire's deep sea-blue gaze lowered back down to try and seek out her own. Never one for compliments, he kept silent about her halo, yet the awe and intrigue on his face spoke volumes about his thoughts. When the two had first met he had thought Maren an untimely and odd beauty. That feeling was only further magnified by the halo.

Her question snapped his mind out of his reverie, and he considered her words. "Maren like the sea? Like the dark?" He humored her, but in truth Gaucho didn't like guessing games. He asked her why she was out here - it was not rhetorical, and it was not an invitation to be coy. Still, Gaucho valued Maren's opinion and her quick tongue and snappy words, so he let it pass.

Gaucho detected nothing amiss in Maren's tone, did not sense the hurt or anything else her question might have been laced with. Instead, his mind tried to relive the conversation to see if there was some promise he had failed to follow up on, or some insult that had gone un-answered for. But he couldn't find anything. They had spoken of ... of the bridge and blowing it up with enemies upon it. That was the most vivid aspect of the conversation, other than the discussion of Maren's wings.

Wings? Was that it?

"We talk about Bridge and Maren's wings ... " Confused, Gaucho wondered if her question was alluding to the use of the bridge? Perhaps she didn't know how to use her key? "All need to do to active bridge is -" Moving towards where soon a mighty pillar would be, Gaucho moved his left flank. It was at the base of his wing where his own key was hidden, and as soon as it was near enough, the bridge burst to life. It radiated with a magnitude of reds and yellows, burning brightly but without heat. A glorious wave of light. "Then just go forward - bridge gives you wings to fly over."

Catching her final question, Gaucho looks down at the pile of twigs and shrugged. Obviously not understand her plan (not that fire could burn the magical bridge anyways), Gaucho nodded. "Vorsa do it." At the sound of her name, Vorsa jumped to attention and trilled happily. Rarely was she asked to practice her ability - likely because it was still so spotty, but she was more than happy to try. Concentrating, the phoenix chick hopped to the top of the pile and closed her eyes. Opening her wings, she began flapping them, as if trying to create to force the fire into being. After only a handful of seconds, her body burst into flames. Trilling happily she paused, allowing the flames on her wings to ignite the sticks beneath her. Of course she wasn't harmed by the heat, and even appeared to enjoy it. After a moment as her own body stopped being on fire, she hopped back down to the sands and looked up at the two equines, a clear smile on her avian features.