She had grown increasingly restless of late, uncomfortable – in a physical sense – and her skin itched awfully as though it were pulling ever tighter around her bones. Her empty stomach twisted and moaned, but she had no inclination to feed; and stranger still was the fact that her coat was glossier than it had been in months, her flesh still fuller, even despite her involuntary aversion to food. Africa could never have guessed the cause of the transformation, the consequence of the night spent in the passionate embrace of the Gallant, and continued along with life obliviously – albeit awfully uncomfortable.

Lean white forelegs pulled her wearily through the shade of midnight and the familiar old forest just south of her home, as she sought to offer aide to those arriving from afar. It was just another leisure among many that had become unsettlingly taxing, but defiantly she continued – stubborn in a sense, unwilling to yield to whatever curse had been laid upon her health. With Silas slipping through the tree tops she stepped with some confidence, though whenever the stroke of night-savvy paws touched the litter floor, she paused shyly in place. Always her eyes were straining through the heavy weight of the night, but only the gnarled, shifting shadows of ancient timber crossed her path.

That was until the sickening, subtle thwack off bone against rock resonated through her being.

Pale eyes switched instantly left, gazing blindly into open land through wicked darkness, to find the creature apparently lingering nearby. “Hello?” she whispered softly, feeling suddenly vulnerable as memory of the roan fiend consumed all thought. Be quiet! she told herself harshly, and glanced timidly towards the visible presence of her companion. Silas, can you see someone? Flaming tail licked nervously across stiffened sooty hocks – Africa knew that the hidden body would find her quickly and easily. She was a beacon, a fire-lamp glowing in the night. If trouble loomed, it would be upon her undoubtedly without warning.

Silas however, had spotted the roaming stallion and set himself rapidly across a bough beyond to observe. Stranger... he revealed through the privacy of their bond, and turned a sharp, violet eye nearer. He was a nocturnal creature, unlike Fina or Neve, and was in his element when the fingernail-moon shed only the weakest of light across the country.