The bronze's maiden attempt at flight makes Volterra remember his boyhood, when he met a winged filly who couldn't yet fly, whose first forays into the sky had ended in a painful crash back to earth. This is similar, as those fledgling wings try to cup the air for the first time and...fail, slightly. He fights a grin, knowing that within a few hours the dragon will be probably wheeling through the air, happily inflicting misery on small furry creatures. Like foals, able to run from predators within a day of birth, dragons have an uncanny ability to be able to hunt almost as soon as they can move.

Hubris. He's surprised how quickly she reveals his name - with the onus she places on naming, he'd thought she would take a long time to think about it. Hubris. Arrogance. Pride. Conceit. Normally the beast would think it a strange name, but not from Isopia. After all, such emotions are the antithesis of what she preaches, of what he thinks of her as. They are emotions that make somebody less concerned for the balance of the world, more concerned for their own selfish ends. Volterra suffers from those emotions. In a way, he embodies those emotions. And yet, somehow, it perfectly fits the creature now tied to Isopia's mind.

This time, when the bronze tries to take to the skies, he succeeds. Volterra watches him, knowing Isopia will be on hand to help if he falls unceremoniously from the heavens. He doesn't, and he almost wishes his red were here, to soar beside Hubris and impart the wisdom of aerial prowess. At that moment, the earth-girl questions Vérzés' disappearance. The stallion flinches slightly, almost invisibly. She's noticed. Indeed, there's been a...distance between man and beast recently, ever since Volterra reached his second birthday and became a walking hormone. The perils of having a same-gender companion is that there is twice the amount of testosterone, and although Vérzés' manifests itself in murderous bloodshed rather than lust, it's equally as unhealthy. The pair argue often, sharp banter that toes the line between friendly and barbed. After all, they are both young men discovering the needs of their bodies, fuelled by hunger and a masculine desire to dominate - mind-brothers they may be, but brothers do not always get along. They've been through childhood together, now they are into the equivalent of their teenage years, all frustration and new experiences. They have lots of maturing yet to do, and with it will come a newfound closeness, as their hormones settle down and their bodies become meadows rather than battlefields.

This distance, however long it lasts, does concern the black goliath, but he also knows that it doesn't stop them being a powerful duo who would kill and die for one another. Argue they may, but at the slightest twitch of his mind, he knows the red would be by his side, and vice versa. It does them good to spend time apart. Sharing a mind, a body, everything, leaves little time for personal growth. Spending time apart means they have time to develop alone as well as together, to become strong in their own right and not rely on one another. On this occasion, though, Vérzés has taken himself away for a different reason. Well, mostly. He also prefers not to witness his mind-partner fawning over another creature that isn't him. He grows jealous of the women who capture Volterra's attention, and although he prefers Isopia to the others, he is not above such envy. He likes her, and will hopefully like Hubris too, but prefers to give her privacy with Volterra and take himself elsewhere.

"He was concerned that Hubris may not bond properly with you if another dragon was nearby when he hatched." He doesn't notice the hardening of his friend's voice - either because he's so focused on how to explain his and Vérzés' distance, or because he simply doesn't want to hear it. "You are correct, though - he leaves often. We are, ah..." How does he explain this? How does he explain lust to her? Does he want to, when she may think less of him for admitting that he has such desires? Perhaps she thinks him above such urges of the flesh, like she undoubtedly is (although he hopes not, hopes there is a part of her that wonders...), and that telling her otherwise might remind her that he is just flesh and bone, need and hunger, rage and flaws and hatred and normality. He thinks of Mirabella, and knows that the Volterra who interacted with the unicorn mare is not the same Volterra who interacts with Isopia, who stands here now talking as friends do. He doesn't think the earth-mare would like the other him, the him that allows himself to be consumed by greed and the primal sating of the flesh.

"We have both developed, myself and Vérzés, in the last few months. With that comes certain, uhm, emotions that we both...struggle to contain. Our minds are so intertwined, it becomes hard to differentiate between each of us." Meaning the blood-dragon is in danger of flying off to find a female to impregnate, and Volterra is liable to go on a sudden killing spree. "It is sometimes better if he, ah, goes elsewhere sometimes, especially during certain...situations. Otherwise, our conjoined emotions could become overpowering." He hasn't explained that brilliantly, but he hopes to all the Gods that Isopia will not question him further. He does not have delicate sensibilities, but trying to explain this to her without sounding crude...it is nearly impossible, and may taint her image of him forever. "We will both grow out of it, but at this, ahem, volatile stage, it does us good to spend time apart sometimes."