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He had been intent on running from the place like a summoner haunted by his conjured demon, but the voice brought him back into another sudden halt. This time however it was not curiosity and dread that reflected upon the finely chiseled features but a steely wariness masked by a fine veneer of casual calm. Youthful and undeveloped muscles did the best they could in increasing the as of yet unimpressive arch of the neck, and while there certainly was spring and flow to the step as Cathun turned the overall impression was ruined as a large hoof caught in a hidden root and made him stumble.

The heat was oppressive even in the greed shade. Accumulated sweat was drying on neck and flanks, lather stiffening and staining the stormy coat, until the feline mottling along the legs made an impression of having multiplied. The ground behind him still smoldered and oozed with drifting smoke, it hung like a mist in the air and stung his nostrils, pricked the eyes and made them water. Blazing sockets fell upon a creature that was neither horse nor dragon but a perfect mixture of both, and it was all he could do to keep his expression even, the perfect image of mild curiosity. A brow raised as her question was considered, immediate wariness mingling with a strong urge to share just how darn unpleasant he found this place just then. In the end he opted to remain silent, but that apparently made the ... girl? uncomfortable. She apologized, introduced herself, and suddenly it was he who stared, face slipping into a look of utmost surprise.

"A-Amaris, you say? Truly? I must be in luck, then!" A bright, cheerful smile exorcised all caution and in few springy strides the colt danced up close, all charm and warmth and grace as he extended a dark nose in greeting. "I was talking about my father. Lace. He told me to come here, for certain reasons, and to seek out 'Amaris, and Tavi, because they will surely find a way to help'. I only just arrived, and here you are!"

Excitement seeped through every fiber of his being and made the embers in the made glow brighter, its heat intensifying. Yet while the ash-maned youngster seemed perfectly fine with the temperature and with the hybrid girl, the sudden appearance of a dragon made him recoil.

"Hey, what the...!?" Surprise quickly grew into alarm as the black spirit began swooshing around his head and legs. Cathun reared, squirming in midair as he tried to avoid touching the flitting lizard. Black ears tipped backwards, and with agitated thrashing of the cascading tail he began to retreat, step by step. "Get this thing off me!"

He was not used to dragons. Fajira was the constant shadow of his father and yet for all that he had tried to, Cathun just couldn't bring himself to like her very much. Maybe it was instinctual, perhaps it had something to do with the haughty better-than-thou attitude in the creatures, but he never learned to feel comfortable with the rush of air around his ears or the predatory screeching in their voices. Was this one bonded to Amaris? Did every horse in this haunted, unnatural place have a bound creature?

The prospect of a happy future was growing dimmer by the second.

@[Amaris]