Ulric requested (or was it a demand?) traveling in groups no smaller than three. But it was just before dawn, the best time for a flight, and the rest of the court was tangled in dreams. Anyway he was untouchable in the air, at least in Delumine. There were no Solterran teryrs here and no resident dragon for at least the past hundred years. More importantly he was fast and nimble and could outfly damn near anything with wings.
Luckily for him, he's never had to put his money where his mouth is.
So Mateo leaves on his own. He spreads his large wings and soars up and up in ever larger spirals. Dawn creeps into the eastern sky with a bruised blush. It is his favorite hour, and as the sun opens its eyes Mateo is gliding peacefully into the new day. Novus unfolds beneath him beautifully.
Somewhere below, a dark figure moves across the plains towards the forest.
Maybe he should alert the regime (are they even awake yet?) but then he'd lose track of the stranger. He circles overhead one, twice, deliberating what to do. Then he gently glides down to earth.
He lands at the outskirts of the forest and catches up to the dark stranger in a few long strides. "Hello!" He should probably, definitely be a little more wary of strangers, but here is his logic-- it was a beast that killed and ate those poor men, not a horse. The proof was in the footprints. And what's more, it simply is not in his nature to be suspicious. He hasn't yet learned how trust can be used to wound more surely than a blade. Mateo stops her because be's concerned for her, not by her. "Haven't you heard? There's a murderer on the loose. Its best not to travel alone, specially in the forest." He straightens his shoulders, tucks his large wings at his sides, and tries to look as regal as he can. It is no easy task, for the stallion has a youthful softness to him that did not want to be hardened into something serious. "I'll escort you," he offers graciously. "Now... where exactly are you going?"
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AW but @Huntington first please <3
