There were few in this terrible world of Helovia who could truly charm- perhaps not capture entirely the Oracle’s heart, but intrigue her enough to cause that reticent mind to tremble with fondness. Originally it had been the black and white General (or Sultan, the title which chained him now), Midas with an unsettling and pupil-less gaze of gold which frenzied her emotions; no matter how childish she had been. The first to greet the dappled girl, the first to save her from foolish wanderings, and the first to take particular care to forge friendship; the magnificent warrior had wooed her silly feelings into a feeble fizz.

Voodoo was another who strummed the tightly strung chords of her heart. They had stumbled upon one another through slightly more peaceful times; before the Basin’s crude, hopeless invasion; before the imprudent girl had been led astray so far away to the north. They had played like children should; losing themselves to make-believe worlds and wild fantasy adventures which seemed now to a wiser and tainted mind, pure bliss. She had found him just recently, a changed beast with prickled hedges surrounding that already slim lane into his soul- once she had fallen recklessly into it sending flailing adolescent hormones into a rage. Perhaps her feelings for the grulla Unicorn who for so long had been the forbidden enemy, had never waned. For all she knew, the tangle of grief hindering her now could easily have had that unspeakable truth intertwined throughout. For now they stayed friends, whether on purpose or by oversight.

Silk stepped forward, piercing the bubble of comfort that she broke only to comfort the weak and pained- never did she offer anything greater than that superficial care owed. Now though, her skin began to burn, and the breath inhaled to sear away to moisture misting her lungs. The Oracle felt like at any moment she might choke the fire which he ignited with that touch; so simple and mellow, yet so full of contrasting, confusing affection. She could not think of a time another had laid themself upon her in such a bold move- actually found that barrier between love and like. Africa was torn brutally in two. How was it possible that one horse, still a stranger in so many ways could step in and shatter a fully fledged pattern of behaviour in half? She was not the promiscuous woman, nor the flirty floozy whose main objective in life was to seduce any with a pulse and breath.

Frightened, she wanted to whirl away from him; to spirit away into the sky like she had been able to as a child so often before. Pale cream eyes were wide and unblinking, the nurture in them replaced by steaming uncertainty. She could not rebuke him though, as much as her mind screamed for each ligament in her legs to contract and whisk out of his reach, she was frozen beneath the warmth of his gesture- the tender care and worry which seemed to seep from his hot black body against hers. For a moment the Oracle wondered if her swaying feelings were exclusive, unfelt quite the same by Silk as their embrace endured her rigidity. She could not decide if it were her alone creating this issue; this sudden stew of toxic infatuation that was as unfamiliar and alien to her as those gigantic mammals who passed by this southernmost point of the peninsula through the vast ocean.

“Do you think,” Africa asked suddenly, breaking the cycle of thoughts for the better of the moment and softening her stance a little beneath him. Through all the turmoil she felt in those moments, she could not deny how beautiful it felt to just be embraced- to be the one receiving for a change. “...that spilt blood; murder even, can be forgiven?” She had no desire to elaborate, nor did she plan on divulging to him what exactly was hidden beneath the carefully picked words she had given. The Oracle held herself entirely responsible for not obeying the law set down by Kri last Orangemoon; it was because of her weak character and gullible skull that life had been lost- that, although at the time she thought quite the opposite, was the worst fate imaginable.