His features were aglow, cast in the unwearied radiance of the fire which remained unbeaten by the foul attitude of the weather; now closer, the dappled mare could see the lines of his once fraught face had softened, the disharmony cursing his eyes eased. Had it been a week since last they had spoken anything greater than the obligatory hello, how are you? Africa, the day following their camp out beside the sacred flame had been stretched- the duty and errands swallowing her time seemed always to be a ball of unravelling twine, the end of which was untraceable. Such was the weight she had promised to shoulder when the Sun God had bestowed upon her this role; the gift, which undoubtedly she both cherished and respected unwaveringly.

The Oracle’s large eyes had mellowed instantly; the stress once pooling through their ethereal glossy black centre had been pressed aside to accommodate the presence of her guest. She cared more for those building the numbers of her family then ever she did herself- and still more did she hold a selection of faces closer; this flightless creature among them. Perceptive both by nature and for the sake of her spiritual role in the herd, Africa noticed quite readily the switch of emotion and smiled to ease the concern enveloping him. So too did were his words wrapped snugly between that worry, and her large ears swept forward to hear embrace them. She found not the space to respond, nor did he follow the natural trend of any conversation in answering her own. The one-winged grey chortled lightly through the film of water, her steaming breath rising like a billowy cloud before dissolving into the atmosphere above.

She had not before met someone who cared so openly and for her- well, with that same emotional abandonment that often unravelled her mind so rashly upon the world too.

As his long, soggy, mane-shroud neck uncoiled to reach across his large, refined skull, her ears flicked carefully and hesitantly, almost unwilling to allow him the same closeness which had torn her two some moons ago, with Silk. Africa was a sensitive, sensual creature whose boundaries, were often skewed by her desire to comfort and tend the needy- her emotions had been so easily lead astray; a lust which was alien and frightening had consumed her. Unwilling to destroy that care forged between them, the tapering lips were sent forth to meet him, trickling water running like a minute waterfall between the flare of her nostrils. Too much pressure, the weight of her felony stewing, and the foreign flood of arousal lately caused her skin to tremble nervously- subtly, so that perhaps even he might not notice.

"I’m fine," she cooed softly, trying earnestly to fill the sweet flavour of her voice with confidence. Although he was worried, she wished not to share the burdens of her soul- not with any other actually, and snuffled tenderly before withdrawing her face from the reach of both his touch and his breath. Gingerly she smiled. "A fine friend I have in you." The Oracle admitted, blushing for the truth of the matter; because it was an overwhelming gift given. "I can only pray that you feel as blessed in my company."

She felt deeply that some explanation for her haggard appearance was owed, needed, so that his mind could at least rest a little. "The change of season; this shift from drought to near flood... (the dappled mare laughed coyly, and tossed her saturated face left to right to indicate to that which still spilt around them) "... unsettles me, and I find myself unable to sleep. Does that happen to you?" She asked quickly and diligently, hoping her story (though half-truth it really was), might be enough to quell his thirst to help. "The desert is such a beautiful place, but so wearing upon its inhabitants."

Africa