Loretta watched the mare carefully, as Archibald did. Archibald was a very skilled man of his field, displayed in his rank, but also silently displayed as he observed the woman before him. Her grey body held evidence of training and the practice of that training--scars littered her frame and her muscles were solid. The Dauntless was all-too-used to observing others quickly and categorizing them, the time of this task typically at the beginning of battles and scuffles. In this moment, however, Archibald would judge more than her strengths and her weaknesses. The Dauntless needed to judge her character. Was she fit to serve? Did she intend to follow orders or be an agent of chaos and anarchy? Where did her heart sway--to herself, or to her duty? Would her past--her queenliness--interfere with her position in his guard? Archibald's golden eyes hardened some as his mind calculated his response.

"The World's Edge is a solace. We live in peace, but my warriors are strong and will remain strong. You will fall in the line of duty, and you will follow orders. Good soldiers have time to think when others do not." He regarded her comment of thoughtlessness and brutality. You can train her to use her brain. Loretta commentated, a sly smirk planting on the dog's face as she sided her master's left and continued to watch the winged mare. "I do accept your desire to join this herd,a World's Edge Protector you will be. All newly ranked start at the bottom but you can acheive greatness if you so choose. My partner as Captain, Ktulu the Constrictor, or I can test you should you so desire. Within your duties--keeping your skills sharp and protecting this land--our word is law and it is wise to remember." Finally, the mammoth nodded carefully. His words were not laced with malice, but with his experience and his prowess. Archibald was a mechanism of war, a king among warriors, and he held high standards in his army. He expected the mare to reach these standards.

Golden eyes turned to the golden mare, the smaller and meek. "Thank you for bringing her. If a stranger can protect a stranger, I expect nothing other than excellence. Continue to seek strength, Jahzara, and you will be well." It was when Archibald finished speaking that everything changed.

It was like an immediate drop in the atmosphere, and Loretta pinned her ears and snarled. Snapping his attention to his bitch, Archibald's face hardened with a puzzled pause. His ears pinned to match her's, and he followed her amber eyes to the sky. His golden eyes widened at the sheer immensity of the black cloud that was a flock of birds. No--all the flocks of birds.What were they doing? They blotted out the sky with their inky blanket, filling the place where the sun should shine. Instantly, they fell, drowning the trio of horses and the dog in a feathery chaos. Loretta continued to snarl as birds smacked against her white and red body, causing her to jump in a panicked frenzy. Away. Get away. She yelled, whining when the birds flooded her. Archibald grunted as the winged creatures hit his body. The sound of their bones breaking and their squawking was nothing he had ever encountered before--the sounds of their suffering was something unnatural.

When it all was done, Archibald's ears dropped again and his brows drew together. "What in the hell was that?" He nearly whispered, looking around at the snowfall of birds, some dead, most suffering.