Beyond the mass of seal-bay rump, there was the thrashing movement of another horse - the stallion whose voice had snapped through the tense air barely moments before. Though whipping willow obscured much of her view, the bewildered Africa could at least make out his graceless fall backwards and her eyes widened still further. Oxy? It was the idiot in the Threshold years ago, though straining to see she was sure; and ironically, he was the same titled soldier who had fronted up to a recent meeting back home in the Falls. At the time she had been distracted by their mutual Czar, the Ascended, but suddenly the puzzle pieces seemed to merge together.

Unexpectedly, a violent tremor shook the ground. The meek smile that had emerged for the sake of such surprise recognition soon fell clear into oblivion. She braced awkwardly as her body rocked and teetered clumsily above the swaying earth.

All the while, the other mare - the hind with still no face to remember, had become more; a lashing, swishing mass of ebony tendrils. The Starry-Eyed’s raised face danced from side to side, well clear of all moving flesh. The other began to sway too as the world unbalanced below them, and the part-feathered, lonely wing down to her right lifted in defence – her credulous gaze almost turned too, to search for Ampere who seemed to be a magnet for chaos just like this.

With Silas growing ever more agitated above (having slipped from his meal to find his beloved in peril), Africa wondered if perhaps she should have just stayed at home in mourning. Surely that would have given less grief!

The earth stilled after what seemed to be hours, and Africa peered cautiously around her before striding from out from cover – words were writhing between the billowy willow tree with all the potency of snakes coiled to strike. “What on earth was that!” the gentle note of her feminine voice filled a sudden void of silence, “...and Oxy, what are you carrying on about?” Eyes had narrowed intently and she pulled her still scrawny, underfed frame between them, to face head on the stallion with a fixed look of disgruntlement. She was sure it was him, and for that reason alone (they both hailed from the Falls which meant she was safe), she braced her shoulders boldly forward.