It would be a massive understatement if it were to be said that the impressionable grey Pegasus was both unsure, and very much intimidated by the arrival and thuggish attitude of the other horse- with a horn sticking out of his forehead. Africa took an increasingly troubled step away from him as he transgressed, regardless of her very obvious desire for personal space. Not once had she encountered such a being as he, and she shivered- a nervous impulse, at the same time turning to pluck (like one might chew their nails or suck their thumb) a feather, or two from her tightly clenched wing. There was no time though and she jolted away from his imposing presence, flinging her face away, when he paused (she indeed presumed he would continue forward), barely feet from her hunched, unavoidably cowardly form.

His voice was grotesque, putrid like algae filming across the surface of a stagnant pond, as it fingered her flickering ears- but she answered like a fool, inexperience shining like gloss through her wide eyes. Maybe a wise horse would have at that point, fled. “I’m lost...” She declared believing that he was genuinely interested while, tucking her chin defensively at his next advancement; leaning his head in close to her own. The sun stroked her dappled back though it did not feel warm at all; the air was thin here and bitterly cold when she drew an anxious breath and held it. All of a sudden (and perhaps directly influenced by this creature’s presence), the Throat didn’t seem so suffocatingly hot at all- in fact, Africa now wished a great deal, that she hadn’t been overcome by this wretched craving to explore at all!

She exhaled sharply at the closeness of his face, unusually bold but perhaps more so unhappy with him. “Africa...” Came the mumbled retort, and she swayed across her slender legs for a second gracelessly, unbalanced as his eyes scraped menacingly across her now trembling body. “...and you are?” In some respects, almost immediately after she had spoken, Africa wished that she had just not. If she had simply held her tongue and closed her eyes tightly enough, maybe that horrible horse would have just vanished- he might never have been there at all. She closed her eyes anyway; blocking him out the best (and possibly the most foolish) way she could think of.