A muffled sound of undetermined nature had the stallion freeze where he paced, restless despite the weariness that had seeped into his bones. There was a touch of madness to the amber of his eyes as he spun around and stared at the opening, a deeply felt emotion part loneliness, part fear, part guilt; for a fraction of a second he was prepared to lunge at whatever intruder that had managed to make it this far in the dark, ready to push himself past death itself and make another run for it. Then the small squeal of an animal broke the pregnant silence and Lace found himself staring down at a small fox as it hugged his legs, part astounded and part... part...
He knew this creature.
The realization was like a punch in the gut. Much like a sleepwalker the elderly stallion raised his head and moved the gaze from the multi-tailed canine to the opening to his shelter, eyes straining to pierce the blackness of the night that had settled outside as the sun went down. He could see a figure looming outside, small and slender, immobilized and staring... It couldn't be, could it? But there was no way he would be able to mistake Tandavi for anyone else. There was only one filly he knew to be crazy enough to walk around this crumbling world on her own, when everyone else were either dead or disappeared.
Sucking in a breath of equal parts surprise and relief the grullo finally managed to relax and gave the girl a slow, warm smile. "I thought you were gone..." Lace said softly and lowered the nose to lip gently at the shivering fox, soothing hums making his ribcage vibrate from the low-pitched tune. "The World's Edge has fallen... I don't know how many managed to escape." He kept his eyes on her, somehow feeling that it might not be a very good idea to approach the filly right now. There was something in her eyes that reminded him of a deer, cornered and alert - as though she might bolt and disappear on a moments notice. Instead he kept talking to her in a low hum, hoping that words would be able to soothe, if not chase away, the darkness that had begun to take hold of her soul.
"Did you see Fajira somewhere out there? We got separated a while ago. She is fine, but I can't seem to get a hold on where she is. Somewhere to the east I think, but everywhere looks the same now... Tandavi? Won't you come inside, it is warmer here by the fire." Again he smiled at her and took a step aside, gently prying himself loose from Natraj's grip as he moved closer to his little pyre.
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