Look down, the ground below is crumbling
Look up, the stars are all exploding
Perhaps to the untrained eye, the ebony bird who circled far above the scrappy, scrubby canopy of the Threshold forest might have seemed normal- like a native crow or eagle even; riding steadily with an effortless grace between his two outstretched wings. His sharp-gaze was fixated upon the strange behaviour of one he had never seen, raven-hued much like himself, and adorned with luxurious wings. For some time the Zephyr watched her gradual progress through the forest, entertained somewhat that she seemed unable to maintain any reasonable altitude, and increasingly curious as to the purpose of her presence- here where he and Africa often sought the company of their winged kindred; to offer them security, a home and a purpose. This Pegasus mare could very well be the next, he thought with a calculating flicker of approval.

In a swift movement, Silas’s wings dipped and drew in close against the rippling feathers across his curved breast. He dropped with arrow-like precision- like a hawk upon the unsuspecting river-fish. He was no predator though, and as he slipped rapidly beneath the rim of pointed tree tops, the Zephyr’s vast wingspan unfolded with a parachute effect, gathering air beneath and bringing him to a rather abrupt halt above the outstretched bough of a mottled oak tree. There he alit, watching eyes still trained to the unfamiliar mare- but now he was barely a metre above her head, croaking as she passed unwittingly below; a call that no other would recognize but his Bonded.

Suddenly, the black mare took off at speed, gathering momentum; black hooves pummelling the carpet of stringy, bland grass and old rotting leaf litter. Silas swept from his perch after her, thrusting himself faster and faster- not that he imagined for a second the potential recruit would be lost as the drum of hooves echoed through the clear day. The stranger drew to a dramatic halt as she came up the gentle crawl of a cool-water creek, and dropped her face instantly to taste it. Silas, his heart pounding, fluttered upwards into the lowest limbs of a juvenile redwood just beyond the creek’s other side. There he released a vast, cry of sorts- something rather like the screech of a bird of prey, and stooped to commence the realignment of the various feathers which had been unsettled by his flight.

Soon the thudding hoof beats of another horse became apparent, and from the tree line through which Silas had followed the stranger, a dappled mare with only one wing appeared. Her face was veiled by thick, swinging forelock which danced to the rhythm of her gait, though beneath it was the curl of a sweet smile- reaching out to find the other mare. "Hello there." She offered tenderly, tilting her face enough to unbalance the grey forelock from her honey-brown eyes. Quietly she studied the other, before introducing herself. "I am Africa- from Dragon’s Throat." The black Zephyr mumbled something incomprehensible to the horses, but Africa quickly added- "and this is Silas."