Alerted in advance by the clop of hooves against steaming rock, neither stallion nor dragon showed signs of surprise as a shape materialized from the shadows. Lace wasn't in the mood for skittish guesswork about who or what might be coming to visit the toppled shrines, nor did he care whether the unseen being was after a fight or not. There were limits to paranoia, and in all their absence he wanted to see the soul brave enough to start trouble at this holy ground.
"Since when do you care about such things?" the dragon asked quietly and stopped her kneading, instead stretching out casually along his back, a content sound rumbling in the depths of her throat.
"Just because I don't like them doesn't mean I can't respect their power or the faith others have in them" he replied and turned the head ever so slightly as the hoof beats came closer, eyes locked at the point where the wanderer would have to appear. "Besides, I wouldn't like if others made a mess of my special place... Why should they be any different."
A soft hum acknowledged the fairness of the arguments, and with a small sigh the dragoness let her head come to rest upon Lace's gilded whithers. The shape of a horse was slowly coming into view, and as it did the expression began to harden ever so slightly on his face. It was all too familiar even in this strange light, no mistaking that unusual hue of lavender or the milky white stripes that draped across shoulders and back. Would he ever be able to get the memory of those blonde locks out of his head? Would he ever get used to the lack of the vibrant voice that now haunted the forests they once had shared, master and apprentice, brother and sister... friends of a common purpose?
"Yseulte" he replied laconically and straightened the legs beneath himself, neck swelling as it raised to get a better look at her. "It's been a while." The tone was reproachful, hurt; full of all the hard words that stirred every time he thought of how she had simply up and left them all without as much as a goodbye. But he didn't voice them, unsure whether he'd be able to stop once the flood broke the dam. Instead he simply watched her, waiting for but not expecting any of the apologies and excuses he knew might come. Would she have enough shame in her to actually give an explanation for why she chose to leave?
Part of him didn't even want to hear it; there couldn't be one good enough.
Meanwhile, the approach of the violet-eyed cat had caught the attention of Fajira. Mostly ignoring the conversation between the horses, the White cracked and eye open and glanced down at the feline with a cold blue eye, not unlike someone might gaze at an ant beside their foot. The tip of her tail curled, a wing stretched and folded back against pristine scales - then the eye closed again, utterly disinterested in the cub that stared at her with such intensity.
The silence that hovered between the two pairs could have stretched out endlessly. Instead, before either of them had a chance to speak another word, the clatter and rattle of shifting rocks and rapid hooves sent the black-rimmed ears of the silver-maned steed swirling. Frowning slightly at the rapid approach, almost without thinking he started forwards and walked past the frail-looking mare until his body barred the way between her and the approaching menace. Lines around gilded eyes deepened, only to widen again in surprise as an unknown mare appeared from the gloomy darkness, wild looking and stuttering.
What was this, was every horse and their shadow coming to the veins now? Lace folded an ear backwards against the poll and flicked the long tail irritably, giving the spooked mare a hard look.
"Who are you?" he demanded, automatically shifting the weight to the hindquarters to make movements easier. Not that he thought he would have to do battle - not with someone who looked as though she wanted nothing more than to turn and run the other way. No, it was more a matter of keeping the skittish girl away from the searing hot streams of lava that flowed around them; he really didn't want to see anyone burn their hooves off right now.
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[O] A sound of Silence
