THIS CITY IS SO COLD AND I’M, I’M SO SOLD

Toro didn’t get letters.

Not - not to say that he didn’t understand them, but it was entirely that no one sent him any. Who would? Needless to say, he was surprised - shocked, even - to find a bird waiting for him at his most recent residence (for as much as he craved stability, he had taken it upon himself to leave whichever part of the capital he was in that started to have too many familiar faces, because all of them seemed to sneer) with a letter addressed to Toro. He was hesitant to open it at first, thinking, perhaps, that it was meant for someone else, but shame on the sender for getting the address wrong, if that was the case, and so, he resolved to indulge in whatever business was not for his eyes. But as the white bull skimmed along the brief message, they fell upon the signature. He inhaled sharply. 

Your friend,
Anzhelo.

He would say something stupid like that. Toro reread the letter three times before crumpling the paper and throwing it into the corner of his very unfurnished room. He spent the rest of the afternoon pacing, during which he took a break for dinner, before slipping out of the capital as the last rays of dusk slid below the horizon. It’d be wrong to make such a sorry creature wait.

It took some days for El Toro to cross the plains of Solterra, and it lengthened his trip even more to skirt around the canyon (though he took a break at the oasis), dipping south through the mountains (in which he proclaimed himself lost at least twice) before finding the lake of which (he hoped) Anzhelo wrote. It seemed about right, anyway, for when he looked hard enough he found the yawning mouth of, what he considered, a rather noteworthy cave. Toro took a few steps in, but he found his hooves sinking quickly. He called out, “Anzhelo?” before backing out, hoping the darkness had not swallowed his fr- 

@Anzhelo | BORN TO LOSE
"What I say,"

What I think,

WE ALL KNOW THIS IS NOTHING

Something sharp and cold stakes him to the ground when his name rings out from the cave. He knows that voice better than others, for certain, for who else would talk to him for so long - Isra, perhaps, but she was of quieter things he thought, and he did not like to see her so much for she knew him when he was weak, but then, so did Anzhelo, and this all wasn’t so bad, if not for the trip-

The grin on Anzhelo’s face is wide and earnest. ”I’m glad you made it here safely.” Toro dipped his head; he had few thoughts on the situation that would leave his mouth in proper order so he simply glanced away. He remembered then the dragon scale about his neck, but the antlered stallion was already speaking so Toro let the thought pass. He’d grown accustomed to its weight against his chest; it felt like it belonged with him now. Few things ever did, and fewer people yet.

”I have a favor to ask of you.” Always so serious, wasn’t he? ”Yeah, I got that part from the letter.” Why do you think I’m out here? prickles at his good intentions but he holds his tongue for Anzhelo. Always for Anzhelo. ”What do you need?”


@Anzhelo | Call Me in the Day | call the police
"What I say,"

What I think,

OH, TO BE HERE ON THE GROUND

Toro looks away from that smile, it’s too much, really, so silly and juvenile and honest. Toro was undeserving of that kind of thing, Anzhelo too free with it, he decided. ”I need you to smuggle me into Solterra. Can you do that for me?” 
Toro’s breath hitches at the question. ”What?” What in the worlds could Anzhelo need to do in that hellhole? It was a sinking sand pit, alright, and the last thing anybody ought to do was go in there if they weren’t getting accustomed to the…the…hunger. The horrors. All of it. It was getting worse and it was no place for Anzhelo, absolutely not. ”Why do you want to go there? It’s not good, Anzhelo…”


@Anzhelo
"What I say,"

What I think,