It was a good thing that he called out when he did. Satin lips mere inches away from the mercury surface the voice carried over to the rounded lobes of the shadow and made her freeze where she stood, surprised at finding another so close. Her breath caught at the back of the throat, the little crow blinked and let her eyes glide over the water, lavender gaze peering around, over, into the liquid.

With a half-choked cry of disgust the pegasus threw the head up and recoiled, revulsion and fear apparent on her visage as small, hard hooves backed away from the edge of the pond. "Disgusting!" she exclaimed and stared around wildly, trying to find a place where death was not apparent - how had she not seen this before? Sure, the festering much did give off a foul odor, but she had thought it was just the mud and the leaves and... and not dead things.

Desperate to find something living to rest her eyes on, Skuggi turned around where she stood and faced the owner of the voice. Her first instincts as she noticed what exactly he was were to recoil. Wings heavy with damp feathers spread wide on both sides, flared in foolish bravery to made the small femme seem bigger, stronger, more intimidating. She cursed herself for leaving the broken spear of a horn back in the Throat and eyed the stranger warily, her orbs gleaming worriedly in the peculiar light under the trees.

"Who are you?" the black dove asked suspiciously, voice tense and terse, attention focused but still unable to hide the curious music of awe that filled her chest. She had lived in Helovia for a mere two seasons. It was far too short a time to have gotten over the shock of finding horses with horns and without wings, much too brief a period to invoke any real sense of hatred or loathing towards the horned ones who supposedly were enemies. While Shadow had no patience for racist bastards who thought themselves greater than her, she couldn't help herself; she still found the lithe, elegant creatures endlessly fascinating.

And, as it would seem, this stallion that stood before her were a very handsome representative of his kind. Slender and lithe of built he still stood a full hand taller than herself, a fay beside her earthy bulk. For the first time she found herself hating the slender but oh so visible muscles that swelled beneath the thin summer coat, loathed the scars that marred her shoulders and flanks. A black, ragged troll next to a wisp of an elf, she ogled him suspiciously, longingly... If she only had been beautiful like him.

"Did you follow me?"