Kairos was left breathless by the close encounter with Tobias, his choking aura flickering around her so that she felt weak at the knees, the memory of his still, emerald eyes eating her heart with deliberate slowness. The wind ruffled her pelt, bringing her back to reality, and she turned towards her forgotten companion. The resemblance between him and the one who had just ghosted away onto the plains was uncanny, and it drew her to him just as the dark, handsome visage of Zagan drew her. She moved without pause towards the long-furred brujo, extending her muzzle out to him and shutting her eyes, running her wet nose across his shoulder and chest as she had wanted to do with the black beast. It felt good, such unwarranted proximity, and it was only when the other spoke that she drew away with a thudding heart, reminded of her encounter with Elohim and the way she had felt beneath his clumsy touch.

At first she was confused, not understanding what the other was trying to tell her, but he valiantly tried again to impart his meaning and, the second time around, she understood. With a sigh, she turned to gaze out as he sifted the breeze, hoping to catch a final glimpse of the hellion and seeing nothing, “Ah. Tobias is your Tall Protector. Mine is Elijah.” He stood as if she had not spoken, and only when she enquired after the rabbits she had unsuccessfully hunted earlier did he move to reply to her, hissing between his teeth. Kairos was puzzled at his reaction, mistakenly interpreting it for disdain at her poor hunting skills, which she answered with a firm warning growl. He then turned from her, bidding her follow, and she set off after him only because of his alluring appearance.

Together they travelled a few hundred yards before the male paused and gestured towards a large, sandy area peppered with holes. It was dotted with the small, warm-bodied delicacies she had tried to apprehend earlier in the day, and it took every ounce of her strength not to go bounding into the open, saliva flying in her wake. She held her self-control, though, and focused on the boy who was drawing something in the sand. She did not understand it, and yet his spoken meaning was clear. She pressed her ears to her skull, annoyed at the way he ordered her around, and snapped at the air, but set off anyway, her eager stomach ignoring her injured pride. She made an arc around the creatures, settling in line with the dark tips of the other youngster's ears which were just visible above the grassy patch in which he hid. She lingered there for a moment before bursting out of hiding with a volley of barks, and racing straight into the throng of lop-eared creatures. They moved from her, a tide of confined blood, bumping into one another in their haste to get below ground. Some even seemed to forget that safety lay below the earth, and took off at breakneck speed – straight to where Lonhro was hiding.