It was an uncomfortable sensation, being woken up by the sound of flesh tearing nearby. A silver eye flashed open and spied the culprit - Lucius tearing apart a rabbit on his favourite driftwood perch. Happy noises came from the eagle-shaped zephyr, two of his four wings outstretching when he almost lost his balance with a rather significant pull at the flesh he clutched in his great, moon-white talons. Mesec’s repulsion over his companion’s feeding habits had not lessened over their time together. At first it had been necessary and tricky - having to ask others if their own companions would help him hunt for the small animals that it took to keep the then-tiny bird alive. Now Lucius required no help and was becoming more successful every hunt - each one requiring less and less time. He still came back with empty talons fairly frequently, not yet fully grown as he was, but would only sulk around with an empty stomach for so long before leaving once more and only returning when he was satisfied.

If Mesec was very lucky, such as he was tonight, Lucius would bring his catch back with him with the intention of offering half of it to his bonded. It was a sign of affection - or at least Mesec was pretty sure that it was - but it still made his skin crawl. Only once had the offering still been alive, crawling pathetically across the snow, and that haunting experience had been enough to ensure that the prey was always dead before it was brought back.

It was unlike that he was going to fall back asleep now, but he didn’t mind. He often took a nap just before sunset so that he could be awake to watch the stars flicker into existence. It had become a near-daily ritual wherever he happened to be, though he preferred to be in the Dragon’s Throat for it. The almost flat landscape provided a wickedly large sky, completely surrounding the infinitesimal demigod. He could mediate at this time of day, finding it the easiest to not give in to the worries that threatened to drown him in the vicious light of the Tallsun day.

To get away from Lucius and his feast, Mesec moved along the coast - walking close enough to the water so that when the waves rolled in they curled around his hooves before retreating once more. No moon tonight to compete with the stars so there was no silver glow to give away his position - none except the natural shine from the metallic colour as it caught the last few dying rays from the sun. It hardly mattered, he rarely ran into anyone else here on the southern beaches at this time. He was left to his own thoughts - normally a torture but not now under the soft light of the evening.