His smile could only grow.
The beast reminded him of his great uncle Nether, a grouchy old stallion that had a taste for verbal harassment and kidnapping members of his own family just to make them visit. Rift couldn't help it, he felt a sort of adoration for the feathered fiend spring up in his chest; whether or not the winged male obtained the glowing sun orb, he hoped that the quirky creature would stay behind long enough for a bit of conversation. Lowering his wing to make room for the growing press of bodies, Rift resisted being pushed any farther forward into the beast's personal space.
As voices sprung up around him and various scents caused the warm air to become thick and cloying, the ruby stallion kept his eyes on the grumpy bird. Offers were tossed about and a small wraith of fire stumbled slowly toward the crotchety thing and yet, all Rift felt was uncomfortable on behalf of the beast. How would he feel if his relaxation was interrupted by a nearly countless bunch of greedy mortals and their bonded, all vying for the one thing that was toasting his rump? He gave his head a small shake and stared incredulously about, the urge to speak up for the bird, to tell the others to give him some space to let him breathe. Sucking in a lungful of air, the scarlet stallion dipped his head low and took a single step toward the fluffy bird.
"I'm sorry you're so crowded, tell me what you'd like for me to do."