The hunter's eyes are transfixed by the fire. It is his faithful companion that first notices the stranger, and rises to turn and greet her. Manhattan's leaving troubles the colt only faintly; though he feels a loss of physical connection, their mental bond is still strong and supportive of his heavy burdens as she treads farther from the edge.

The young retriever is miraculously calm. When she might normally have lifted her voice in a chorus of warning or protection, she now simply stands before the mare and takes her in. The pup's blue eyes understand Onni at once, and deem her no threat. Dutifully, Manhattan returns to her master. He is alerted by the gentle touch of her side against his own, and in a manner of moments he lifts heavy lids to turn and face her.

"Onni."

He speaks perfectly, his knowledge harmonized delicately with the Sentinel's. It is as if he knows the painted mare as well as his father once had. He sees the sudden understanding of the mare before him- kind, a fellow protector of Anarore- as an asset. He does not fear her (though in some sense, he fears no one); he knows she can be trusted. As he speaks once more in his own, affirmed voice, his body shifts to face her. "You're Onni. The sun warrior from the Islands. My father has told me of your courage," he rises to punctuate the final word and turns from the edge. The kinder voices murmur into his mind- some impressed with his sudden understanding of social cues, others still finding him lacking. "I'm Knox. Knox and fine, yes. I wasn't fine, but I am now," he states awkwardly, carrying himself a few paces closer to her on weary yet powerful hooves. Manhattan circles around him protectively, as if he is still a helpless child. Will he not always be, in some sense, to her? And will he not always, to some extent, feel the same of her? Even as she yawns in the early morning, poison dripping from her ruddied fangs, does he not still fear her gentleness will be her downfall? And even as he stands firm and gentlemanly before a stranger, does she not fear he will someday be utterly and completely alone?

It isn't a lack of the trust between the pair that creates such intricate diffidence; it is more of a mutual understanding that without the other, they would have died a long time ago.