She was untroubled by the lingering of his small warm weight against the lowest length of her leg, and stepped forward readily with the other to secure her own balance. The closeness of Kari; that sliver of innocent intimacy between them, was quite heartening. Something not dissimilar to adrenaline began to course through her young, inexperienced body; the strum of roused maternal instincts maybe, which she neither understood nor reacted quickly to. A new sort of affection was simmering through her pallid expression, as kindly eyes roved about downed frame, quietly inspecting him like Shadow might have- but with less understanding of infancy and its frailty. She thought him rather beautiful, like a sapling oak amongst all of those pungent old straggly pines up north in the Threshold.

Lean black-tipped ears wandered forward to meet a new flurry of words; another question, and Africa felt more adult than ever- wiser and more knowledgeable than perhaps she was. He was indeed asking all of the right questions. "Yes." She nodded responsively, through the small break of his juvenile voice, but the tenderness of her bright gaze narrowed quickly between thick dark lashes as he began to explain the nature of his own fire. At first she thought he was referring to the gift imparted during Orangemoon by her Lord, and the memory of his generosity forced a giddiness to lift her façade. It weakened though as the little colt continued, and her neck lifted away the hang of her fine, chiselled skull so that she could consider more thoroughly- eyes locating subconsciously the flickering lamp-fire in the centre of the ceiling.

"Interesting…" she mumbled. The grey had not been so frightened to trigger the same ability, granted like the last, by the shimmering patron of Dragon’s Throat. Her mind, soul and body alike had not found reason to call upon that magic, and so she remained altogether oblivious- and fascinated with that marvel described by her young companion. "Sort of like teleportation?" she mused thoughtfully and vaguely, forgetting again that his manner was well beyond the years of experience notched into his slim girth.

Her focus snapped back, the vacant glaze of starry-eyes dissolved, and she craned her face left to peer down at him with that pale gold eye. "Well certainly any magic given by the God of the Sun is quite spectacular and something to be cherished. Be sure to thank him when you pray dear Kari, won’t you." She smiled warmly, and her face dropped nearer to him again; fondly, she drew a deep breath there and her lungs drowned in the subtle mustiness of his young cave-bound fragrance.

Filled with some peace in the moment, Africa’s thoughts drifted back home to the dancing firelight which she missed dearly. Her eyes closed tightly around the transforming illusion of a vast night sky above, speckled with tiny winking white stars; and the soft warmth of red-gold desert sand beneath. "When we go home, I will take you to the Diviner’s fire if you like..." In the distance she thought she could even hear the steady rumble of the wild ocean, foaming waves spilling tirelessly across a drenched beach strewn with smooth seabed stones, the brittle relics of starfish and other strange creatures- and lacing the air was the invigorating stench of salt. "…and the ocean, how I miss the ocean."

Africa