The morning air was the perfect temperature. Cool enough to be balm against the blistering heat that would soon appear as the sun rose and began to bake the earth, but warm enough to prevent the unexpected chill that makes you want to bury yourself under the covers. The wide river was soft in its passing this morning, surprisingly tranquil compared to the normal roar. On the sandy bank it trickled by, catching small granules and rocks as it went. Birds chirping, starting their day, was the only sound layered on top of the soft lapping of the river.

His lips were submerged as he slaked his thirst, but his eyes were up, watching his surroundings. It was boring, really. The river, the plains, the day. No one about, nothing to do. There weren't even any good trees around for him to scratch his antlers against. But his ears twitched to and fro, listening almost desperately for anything to relieve him of the dullness. The dullness that anyone else might have called a gorgeous summer morn.

A fledgling landed next to him, not two feet away. He lifted his head just slightly from the water's surface, water dripping slowly from his lips. It seemed to have been stunned, or perhaps something was stuck on its wing that was keeping it from flying. It chirped, helplessly grounded. It wasn't yet full grown, nor did it have all its feathers. A gentle smile crossed his face as it cocked its head and peered at him.

He shifted his weight, and crushed its small body beneath one hoof with a sickening crunch. Without lifting his hoof again, he went back to drinking.

He did not move, even as he was greeted with the sound of approaching footsteps. The small brown wing of the sparrow continued to poke out beneath his cream hoof as a tiny pool of blood formed there. Silas casually turned his antlered crown to face the mare that had just appeared. She was dark— beautiful and wild-looking. Her pale eyes glanced down at the small, broken body of the fowl.

To his surprise, she reacted with neither disgust nor fear nor shock. He was always met with at least one of those emotions, usually a combination of the three.

‘Are you going to eat that?-‘

His golden eyes stared into her pale ones for a long moment. ’Not at all what I expected.’ He moved slowly from his comfortable position, taking a few steps to the side away from her. ”I think not. I’m not particularly hungry, and that little nibble is hardly worth picking those tiny bones from my teeth.” He scoffed and his nostrils flared as he did. ”The tiny ones always seem to get stuck so easily. But please, enjoy it if you’re so inclined.”

Silas made a small gesture toward the bird stomped into the ground. He did not ask if she ate meat. Or if she had teeth like his. Or how she came to be a carnivore... if that was what she was. He asked none of these questions, though they had already lined up in his mind. The kirin’s attention has deviated to the cougar that was not far behind the mare.

The cougar didn’t appear to be hunting, and if it was, it was doing a terrible job of it. The mare had to have been aware, yet she showed no concern. His curiosity rose with each passing second. His eyes glittered and he turned his gaze back to her. ”Is he your pet... or are you his?”

Silas groaned and rolled his eyes when the mare scolded him. He didn’t give a flying fuck if he was wasteful. That wasn’t his problem in the slightest. Her reprimand failed to cow him. Instead he was mildly irritated. Her giggle when she saw the mutilated corpse, though, and his mood cooled. He found her laugh rather infectious. A smirk crossed his face and he also found himself chuckling.

But she didn’t like his next comment, no, not at all. He barely dodged the bird spitball. His eyes narrowed as he stared at it on the ground next to him. He turned his gaze back to the bristling mare to find her ears practically invisible against her skull. Apparently he had pricked a nerve. (Though to be fair, that had been his intention all along.)

A challenging gleam appeared in his eyes. “I see. Well I’m afraid that would be as impossible as stopping gravity.” She seemed like the type to not let such trifles stand in her way.

“Fine.” He said nonchalantly, and flicked the topic away like he flicked his tail against his flank. “Do you have names or are you just Carnivore 1 and Carnivore 2? That’s quite a mouthful so I’d prefer something shorter.” He was positive she’d respond this time as angrily as before, and he watched her with anticipation. Getting a rise out of her was proving quite entertaining.

@Histe