He'd first met the girl when her mother made him his trusty stone knife, when he was an adolescent vagabond with delusions of grandeur and she was a fluffy child at her dam's hip. Then they'd ran into each other shortly after he hit adulthood, when his rampant desires almost brought him to blows with her brother...ah, he does have a weakness for a pretty lady, and she'd grown up beautifully.

The dragons spot her first, their wheeling cries echoing in the goliath's ears as he trots heavily through the frosty grass. Immediately a wide smirk spreads across his handsome features, his fearsome muscles bulking as his trot flows into a canter. A childhood aquaintance turning up on his doorstep is too good an opportunity to miss, which coaxes a surprising burst of speed out of the blackened monolith.

He's slightly disappointed to see that somebody has already beaten him to greeting Areli, but he masks this unwanted emotion as he slows to a cumbersome walk. "Cera," comes his growling voice, dipping his head to his herdmate. Then his gaze travels to Areli, and a grin spreads lazily across his face. She's grown up nicely, developing into a woman with curves in all the right places. He's vowed to try and curb his rampant libido, but....dammit, he can still look. "You've grown," he remarks with a twinkle in his eye.

The Indomitable's smile fades slightly at the strangled sob that explodes from the winged girl. She's asking after her mother and brother, but Volterra has seen neither, and he's been in the herd two seasons. "I haven't seen your mother or brother here, Areli. I'm sorry." His mouth twists into a saddened frown, thinking of his own dam and sister who he would trade anything to have back.

Volterra! The young mare's exclamation brings the smallest of smiles to the leviathan's face. She stops just short of colliding with him, but he extends his muzzle to try and blow air softly towards her in greeting. Still, his news cannot be what the mare wants to hear. Cera provides some respite by revealing that Ilios did live here, but hasn't been seen for months. A sad sigh drifts from the Indomitable's nostrils as he looks at Areli, knowing full well how acute the pain of losing a sibling is. At least Nymeria told him she was leaving, but that did not make it hurt any less. Not a day goes by when he doesn't miss her - the bond of siblings is a certain, beautiful kind of unbreakable.

Cera takes his leave, and Volterra finds himself alone with the mare. He can't help the happy little lurch of his heart at this knowledge, the traitorous little twitch of the stallion within. It's hard to deny that he finds the woman attractive, and the savage beast in his stomach gives a contented roar at the idea that it may finally have her here alone. But his rational side - small as it sometimes is - wins out. This is not the time to make any...advances. She is upset, and he will not take advantage of that, no matter how much his deeply-ingrained stallion's instincts tell him to do so.

She asks what she should do now, and Volterra thinks for a moment. "You could...stay here?" he suggests, hope flaring behind those feral crimson eyes. She is a friend of sorts, and it would be good to have her here especially during these turbulent times. Besides, it makes sense. "When Ilios returns - " and he says the words with such conviction, as though he truly knows the mare's brother is going to come back to them (even though he truthfully has no idea) "- he is more likely to come back here, to his home. If you are also here, there's a greater chance of you being reunited." Common sense, he thinks.

"Besides, it would be good to have you around. I serve as the herd's Gladiator, and there's dozens of others here who I'm sure you would get along with."

The mare seems to be hunting for excuses, and she mentions Bee, who he assumes is her companion. The beast quickly moves to reassure her, although he senses it won't change her mind. "Members of the Throat have keys - see?" He shakes his massive head to cause the key to poke out of his mane, where he keeps it stashed amidst the thick locks. "It opens a magical bridge for the none-winged residents, like myself. Your companion could use that." It is only a guess that it works for companions, but he knows several residents have wingless bondeds - he can't see the fiery wings excluding them.

Areli then adds a reason that Volterra thinks is more truthful - she wants to go home. Home, he seems to recall, is the Hidden Falls, which is ironically where the brute had always imagined himself ending up. The Throat hadn't been planned, hadn't been a herd he'd thought he would join. Life has its strange ways of altering the best laid plans. "I understand," he says, and his rough growl of a voice is unusually soft. He, more than most, understands the ties of family. "If you change your mind, though..." He allows his voice to trickle off, ensuring that she knows his offer is still intact.