His display of magic does not quite have the effect he'd hoped on Mathèo. Rather than the other colt fawning and spewing compliments about Arakh's control of fire, Mathèo looks like he's deciding whether to cry or punch the grullo in the face, and the calf's hopeful look-at-me expression deflates to a questioning tilt of his head. "Theo not like?" Just then, the paler boy creates a fire-bird of his own, and it's Arakh's turn to be taken aback by the display of power. He's assaulted by a whole wave of emotions that he can neither understand nor process - nostalgia, because it makes him think of Ave when he sees somebody else doing it, sadness because of the same, and also a small stab of jealousy, because he thought he was the only one who held the great Wildfire's magic in his veins.

The colt frowns, looking up at the flames created by the other boy and saying both to himself and to anybody who is inclined to listen - "Ave could make fire-animals too. Arakh thought he was only other one." From a deeply selfish point of view, the youth feels as though his specialness has been considerably lessened by the revelation that the silver boy can do almost the exact thing as he can, and he swishes his tail with a troubled expression on his face before trying to push it to the back of his mind.

Theo introduces the bay colt as Iskra, and announces he's the fastest of anybody. Normally, competitive Arakh would take this as a challenge, but he's still distracted by the revelation of Theo's magic. He chooses instead to concede defeat, not wanting to create any further conflict despite his in-built desire to be the very best, like no-one ever was. "Arakh not very fast, Iskra probably win." By offering such a compliment to the bay boy, Arakh is tentatively extending the hand of friendship and peace, his desperation to be part of these boys and their gang overriding his natural instinct to accept every challenge that comes his way. It's an act of deference, of submission almost, borne of his desire to fit in with this particular group.

Iskra's own reaction to Arakh's magic is far more like what he'd been hoping for, and the ghost of a grin makes its way back onto his face. The grin slips away as fast as it arrives, however, when Iskra adds Lookit that you guys are like brothers. Arakh's heart skips a beat and he looks towards Theo with wide eyes, his expression full of ???? Could it be possible? "Who is Theo's Ave?" he asks, trying to keep casual whilst all the time itching for the other boy's answer. A brother. He knows he must have them, but he's never met one - he can't stop the anxiety, the need to know, bubbling through his veins now, and he looks to his silver friend as though his answer is the only thing that will keep Arakh from exploding.

Another boy arrives then, and this one looks to Iskra for permission to join. Iskra seems to exude the notion of being the alpha of their little group, something Arakh himself had picked up on during the Kisamoa meeting when he'd noted that the boy appeared to be the leader amongst the foals. Perhaps it's Iskra's loud confidence or bolshy attitude, but Arakh also finds himself looking up to the bay colt as their leader, which is a rather odd concept since they're similarly aged and almost identical in size and strength. For now, the calf is happy to concede that he's not the boss - power isn't on his young mind at the moment, he simply wants to have fun and fit in with a new group instead of relying soley on his sister for friendship.

After waiting for Theo to answer, if the other boy chooses to do so, Arakh bounds off into the forest after the rest of their little gathering. He pins his wings against his sides so they don't snag on the trees, and concentrates all his efforts on collecting the branches from the patch of trees that Theo had directed them to.