The afternoon was dry; the salt spraying constantly from the turning waves beyond the beach offering little in the way of rehydration for sun-drenched skin and dust strewn pelts. Africa longed to sink into the cool grip of that consoling sea, to wallow and abandon her stress, and soak her wearied self in oceanic bliss. The shimmer of white froth beneath the heavy orange weight of the late day caused her eye to wander for a fleeting moment and she saw in the distance the slimy grey of a dozen or so dolphins playing in their element. The flicker of a distracted smile slipped across her shifting maw, but it faded into oblivion almost as fast, the burden of the meeting at hand to enormous to escape.

Voodoo snorted sharply though the cause was not apparent outside the unpredictable confines of his skull. Africa wanted to gag; the response was not quite as chivalrous as she had wished it to be, but when the crimson-horned beast then spoke afterwards, she was forced to bite her tongue and listen. So coherent was that which fell from his rough, weathered lips, that the one-winged mare couldn’t help the step forward which compelled one white stockinged leg, and her quivering lips sought in that moment to rest upon her friend’s salt-saturated shoulder. His speech; the explanation offered to the Sultan before them was certainly more than she had thought possible. Fluttering in humble reflection, her nostrils breathed softly upon his hot hide there and her eyes closed to remember the first time they had played together like children- the stalking, the fire and the rescue. The silliness that had been Africa’s centre of gravity seemed such a lifetime ago. The Oracle sighed through an expanding smile, and drew back her face when the flutter of her conflicted heart grew too great. The stir of her long time mentor’s voice was a welcome distraction from the chain of sticky thoughts.

The atmosphere seemed to brighten then, the afternoon sky to clear of the choking fog which had descended upon only the nervous dappled mare. She could not have known the curdle of his thoughts, be the shift one of suspicion or intrigue- or simply one reassured by the olive-leaf attempts of this madman. Regardless, she felt lighter, and her ears danced with renewed faith that all would perhaps be well after all. Still, there was no reason for her to join their chorus, and she settled more comfortably by the two stallions in waiting.

[Ooc: I’m so sorry. Life swallowed me :-O
@[Voodoo]]