Cera
_{Whatever you put me through, I'll come out alive}

Cera had spotted Megaera and Asavvi not far from the borders he had been patrolling and had hurried to accompany her, excitement blooming like a desert flower in his heart. He had much to tell her - about the phoenix, and his own recent growth, and Rasta. She was one of his dearest friends, and while it was clear that she missed Hector as much as he did, sometimes he consoled himself with the fact that she remained. Steadfast, loving. He would die for her, he knew with certainty. Whether she was aware of that devotion did not matter, he would never burden her with that confession. But he would give every ounce of blood in his body to spare her having to lose a drop, for she was precious to him. Cera's strength and fortitude were born of love, and were sustained as well by it. 

What he had not expected was the clash of two of those loves. 

Ilaria is sitting backwards on his hindquarters, and it is she who sees the errant bird in the sky and finally recognizes it just as another violently joins it. RASTA! Ilaria screeches in Cera's head, and the boy about-faces so quickly the panda is nearly dislodged from her precarious position. Gwaihir's attack is a distant flash against his eyes, and Cera is bellowing wordlessly in abject disapproval, wings snapping loudly in the air as he twists and cajoles the winds beneath his banners to sweep him into the skies. He lets the wind carry him, light and expedient upon their zephyrs as his heart races. If anything happened to Ettore...on the opposite side of the ocean outside of the herdlands, he recognizes a pale golden form. Megaera arrives before him, but Cera's heart is racing in anger. He is her friend, and while he loves her, he will not excuse her violence. 

He purposefully lands in the shallows, the cold shocking up his legs to try and steady the fury of his heart. Striding up onto the beach he snaps his wings and levels a nasty, disapproving face at Megaera. "Is that how we welcome peaceful visitors, Megaera? By having our companions violently approach them when they are barely in the herdlands? How many times are flighted companions used to signal a flightless newcomer on the shores?" It is snapped abrasively, uncommon for the soft-spoken and kindly Prince, and even Ilaria is leveling a disgusted look towards Gwaihir for the moment. But his hackles are raised and he is deeply disappointed in the mare beside him, though his love for her will never weaken. "If she was an ambassador, she could easily take offense. Companions are precious," Cera practically growled, for he was one of the few to mildly agree with Ampere and her crusade. They were individuals, beloved. And Gwaihir had threatened one of them in an unnecessary display of brutality that Cera did not want the Throat to stand for.

Green eyes shuttered and he took a deep breath, turning to Rasta once his heartbeat was level. He puffed out to signal is approach before reaching to tap briefly against her muzzle - brief, for he suspected he knew why she was here, and his heart was soaring. "I extended an invitation to her, so that she may leave the Falls and return to the Throat to be judged to possibly rejoin. I believe by your presence, you are here with the desire to become family once more?" Cera couldn't help the hopeful tilt of his voice, though the very beginning of his words made it subtly clear to Megaera that he was the one to have orchestrated this in a way. He would not apologize for his views on Megaera's actions, but the wing closest to the Sultana shuffled to a more open pose in a natural body language that spoke of comfort and ease. His eyes flitted to her, a little shy. He hoped she would not be too cross with him - the fact that it was Rasta did not matter to Cera, he wouldn't ever want a companion to feel frightened or attacked at their borders if they were coming peacefully.

He did not want to choose between them, and he hoped they would not make him.

- - -

Angry!Cera lasts about two seconds but IT'S SO RARE LET ME APPRECIATE IT OKAY ;A;