After his encounter with Gaucho, Cera had obediently slept, restoring his burnt out energy reserves. He regretted not having the energy to return to the magnolia, where his family was, but the familiar warmth of the fires he once tended had lulled him into a comfortable doze before he could make the bad decision to get up and go to them. He had a few hours of deep sleep, rather like death or a comatose state with how depleted he'd been, and far more than a wild horse usually partook in. Still, when the scream came across the sands, he was up and on his hooves before his mind was even fully online. Whether he responded to the bellow of his name or the voice that screamed it he didn't know, but a thrum of panic started in his heart. Was Ranjiri hurt? Was Ryuu hurt? Were they being invaded? The possibilities were endless.

Cera leapt to the skies in a single, furious downstroke of his wings, a whirlwind of sand reaching to meet him. Ilaria was already curled into his mane, their minds joining and jolting like a livewire of worry. Only when his name ricocheted like a resounding gunshot across the desert a second time did Cera realized Ranjiri was not hurt or in danger.

Oh, no.

Ranjiri was pissed.

It was such a foreign tone for her that his insides squirmed in dismay, refusing to accept the fact that she was furious. Especially furious with him. Oh gods, what had he done? Cera loved his sister, truly he did, but he'd also known her mother. He really, really did not want to be on her bad side. Though, it seemed a little late for that. His punishment would be all the worse, with how high he'd put her on a pedestal from the moment she was born. He was helplessly wrapped around her little finger, and though she did not often abuse that power, he feared she would soon.

"Get out here, Cera!"

Ilaria snickered from his back. Cera steadfastly ignored her gloating. He was far more concerned with his stomach trying to drop through his hooves. Swallowing thickly, he finally spied a flash of gold below, and dropped in a tight spiral. Best not to keep her waiting when she was already pissed off. Ilaria merely continued to cackle madly, happily comparing him to a whipped dog. Cera's pride was too strong to tell her that she was completely right.

He landed in a shower of sand with a hangdog expression, not quite sure what he was in trouble for but fully prepared to accept the whip if it meant she'd forgive him for whatever transgression he'd committed sooner. "Ranjiri?" he spoke tentatively, cowering beneath her. He wasn't ashamed to be scared of his baby sister. He really wasn't. He just hoped the other denizens wouldn't mock him for it. That was just putting salt in the wound.