Quiet eyes reflected the boy’s sudden flood of remorse with pooling curiosity. A soft smirk toyed with the wrinkled corners of her steel-grey lips and the whiskers lacing the dimpled chin beneath swayed to the subtle twitching as she thought. Even the bright invitation ushered by his ghost-white herd-sister did little to ease fraying spirits and flailing guilt. Africa glanced towards Alina who seemed to understand; further still, to accept the change of heart- perhaps far better than the Oracle herself.

She drew a breath as Dust stumbled and recovered with the swiftest reach of her velvety nose to ensure his stability afterwards- although tender hearted and quick to shed the needs of her own for the sake of another, Africa was unused to children; to their immature thought-patterns and undeveloped emotional capacities. Though barely parted from the yolk herself (psychologically), she struggled as she tried to empathise and appreciate his perspective. If nothing else, she could quite easily see the steadfast loyalty which had flourished between them so quickly, and it softened her heart still further than she could have imagined possible. Certainly, there had been no such connection as profound as this with the wayward spirit of Aurelia.

Alina spoke again, her voice filled with care and reassurance and the words between encouraging.

The Oracle stepped closer to the colt, her naked left shoulder brushing intimately with his undersized wing- that which had folded again with the realization of his mistake. She found nothing that he should regret, no insolence to wound her ego, nor foolishness to render his own reputation foul. Her neck curled around with grace proffered by the timeless elegance of her ancestors and her lips found the smooth, hornless space between his lovely young eyes. Delicately she planted a kiss upon him- one to both comfort and reassure him, that all would be well. Of course it would be while they were snug inside the borders of their mighty home. To him alone she whispered, lifting her mouth to the nearest of his still downy ears, “One day, when you have learned well to fly, I will take lessons from you.” A chuckle rumbled through her chest and she lifted her face to Alina with a faint nod; a gesture of gratitude. “At this rate, I will be there before you!”

With that, Africa swept forward through a wave of yielding sandy loam, hooves cutting gravely into its parched surface, and pushed herself away. Naturally the travel of the flighted pair would be swifter, and the grey would slow once they had flown from her view- she wanted Alina to take her time; for Dust to quench his thirst for those bountiful updrafts which stroked the blue arc above the desert.

[Ooc: Lol Dust’s picture hahaha. Very cute.]