Silas was not an antisocial creature- he enjoyed the company of Fina, sought her notice whenever she was near. She was beautiful even if she was the stark contrast of him, burning with all of the sun’s ferocious glory. But he was not sociable, and had little time for the creatures of his beloved’s world. They were primitive according to him, wasteful and cruel. He had never seen another species as intent on self-annihilation as they were, and rarely heeded them interest. By some binding attraction over which he had no control, he remained by Africa’s side, bidding her will- as she did his. He was like the soldier and she the dame; her ever watchful, gallant guardian.

As he neared them, gliding downwards by the canopy to where no more foliage roofed the lake, his keen lilac gaze had narrowed warily upon the crouched pup where it stalked so intently a victim; he could see even from afar a mouse. His shadow unsettled the well-fed creature, by the zephyr had no desire to indulge upon flesh-smothered bone. Actually, he could think of nothing more revolting than the taste of warm blood as its thick substance seeped down his gullet to spill amongst tattered fur and skin. His gut lurched, but not before the creature scurried obliviously from its true stalker as her white form launched suddenly to kill. Silas had little concern of the welfare of either frankly, and continued gracefully to ride the updrafts above the water- watching always the mare.

The Starry-Eyed watched on, oblivious to the commotion playing out in the grulla's mind; unaware that it was her bonded zephyr who had in fact been the cause for concern. Her own mind lay relatively stagnant, Silas was silent as he roamed above, and she felt quite comfortably distracted from her anxieties standing there with ol’ rummy-nose. It reached forward to meet her, and she bumped it both affectionately and consolingly as intended. Voodoo’s thick, stale breath sailed on though, not hesitating for long to mingle with her own, and she held quite still as his shadowy cheek came to rest upon the naked shoulder to her left. In the split second of his action, she felt a profound wave of responsibility; of care and duty for this friend. Africa had felt such once before, when he’d stood so alone and so detached in the Threshold. She had defied the counsel of her family then, those who had walked these sands even before her hooves had been set across it, and brought him- a 'Basiner' home to stay.

Tentatively, trembling lips were guided around by the curl of her elegantly arched neck- that which was adorned by twisting, dancing flames, and with touch delicate enough to groom her own intricate and beautiful feathers (and one capable adversely, of plucking them right out), the one-winged began to preen the oily drape of his mane. She worked quickly, dissolving twigs which had snagged within it and straightening away the tangles surrounding. He had thanked her around that time, voice low and rough against the soft sweep of the warm salty breeze. There was no need, but she held her tongue thoughtfully, and her industrious nibbling inched closer towards his withers. Briefly quietness enveloped them there by the lake’s lapping edge, and then Voodoo spoke again, causing the dappled mare to pull from her task and mock him playfully.

“It’s your lucky day! Mess is a specialty of mine...” It was mostly true. Africa had brought upon herself so much misfortune and so much stress, that she felt more than capable of sharing the load of his own complicated situation- if he so wished to divide it of course. Fluttering nostrils drifted momentarily so that she could find and fondle tenderly about the red-tips of his ears. “Just start from the beginning Voodoo... I am not here to judge your mistakes.” With a sympathetic smile that he would never see, she turned and rubbed opportunistically her glossy eye against the groove of his shoulder. The flies aggravating her face hummed their resentment loudly. “But first let’s drink.” The grey waited naturally for his face to peel from her skin and step away; she had no wish to deny him any comfort she had to offer.