As he walked, Judas noticed a change in the atmosphere around him. The sun seemed to shine more brightly, the sea to hold its breath and the pitch of the gulls altered in a manner he knew well. They had spotted something in the long grass that coated the dunes, and they were confused. Was it food, was it a predator? A bit of both, perhaps? He grinned as the thoughts peppered his mind before focusing on the waving foliage above which the gulls were noisily gliding. There! A flash of black against the sandy yellow of the dune. The male swallowed a chuckle and deliberately turned away from the one who was stalking him, continuing to walk as though he had seen nothing. She was still noisy as a herd of auroch, her belly fur brushing the earth and her heart crashing like thunder. A bright beam of emotion whizzed through him like lightning, leaving him breathless in its wake, and he suddenly couldn't wait any longer. She better make her move soon, or he would have to blow her cover himself.

At last, the little female leapt from her hiding place, barrelling towards him. He watched her come, feigning shock and surprise, although he could do little to hide the excitement in his enchanting, purple eyes. A quick turn of her heel and she ducked past him (so she had learnt something during his absence as well, it seemed), and she nipped at his ear, catching he soft flesh between her needle-sharp teeth. He yelped and turned to race after her, pulling up with her in a spray of sea and sand. Foam flecked them both now as they panted in the sun, sizing one another up, trying to fathom what had changed. Mana looked up at him, a smirk on her lips, and he rolled his eyes in that all-too-familiar big brother way of his,

“Mana, how many times have I told you, belly off the ground when you stalk! Even the gulls could hear you coming!”

He knew what she would say, that he was lying and she really had given him a fright. He wouldn't argue if she did. Bending, he let his body slide along the sand into a play-bow position, inviting her into a game. There would be time to chat later, to ask why she reeked of Spirane and where she had been and how her training was going. Indeed, he did not care at the moment. The only thing that truly mattered, was that she was there and she was ready to play with him as they had all those months before.