A soft fragile smile split her black lips as he answered her pondering, "We better. I want to know what that thing is." Africa was pleased that Voodoo wanted to know what it was, equally as much it seemed, as she did. His voice was indeed changed; there was the faint whisper of a more light-hearted note, and it caressed the forward tilt of her listening ears, albeit well hidden beneath the thick rasp of his general indifference. Its enticing flavour was not to last though as the colt with the red nose spoke again. "I need to go, we both should...” Already he had committed to the idea she thought, as her eyes slipped quickly to cover the sudden movement of his long legs, carrying him away without so much as a parting nod.

Africa held few friends in the wild, magical world of Helovia- there were many whom she had spoken with in passing, strangers who cared little for the fantasy games and childlike mind of an insignificant grey mare who held no rapport with any matter of importance. She was a free spirit, who hungered for interaction and companionship, though many found her nature overwhelming, time wasting. The young horse could not have been any more oblivious to this as she dabbled through life at liberty to be herself. He was a first for her though, he had persisted and lingered long in her playful company and she cherished him entirely, and all of the time they had shared.

The emotion which fluttered still through her empty tummy caught in her throat and she coughed quietly, unformed words desperate to reach for his departing body and reel him back. Already she felt the cold pang of loneliness grip her heart, and she tightened her grip on their jewel just like he had before- copying, because it was all she could think of to delay the inevitable fade of their memories. He walked in a direction that could never lead her home, and surrendering underneath the descending blanket of frostbitten night air, Africa’s yearning gaze parted from him too. Voodoo never looked back.

Perhaps deep down she knew they should never meet again. It formed as a dull ache within her fleshy breast, the loss of a treasure far greater than any gem discovered in the dark below the earth. “Bye Voodoo...” She whispered through a dismal sigh and stepped towards the jagged perimeter of the cliff they had played across. Pausing to look back one last time, Africa’s wings unfurled in a mass of black and grey feathers and amid one final thought, she craned her neck so that her lips could pluck a long sleek black quill from the tip of the intricate lace-work. Gathering herself into a powerful forward launch, the dappled mare slipped into the thin air beyond the cliff, immediately finding a chilly current across which to climb. Before she allowed herself to be carried away though, Africa curled left to cross above the colt, and as she passed like a lofty shadow above his slow amble, she released the feather so that it might twirl down to find him- a parting gift, so that he might not forget.