I've learned to live with these fatal gifts
and still you're mine
The hush of the forest is broken by the distant hum of voices. This in and of itself is not so unusual, but the way they swell and grow, new notes overlaying those already there, is. Numerous voices, each vying to be heard over the other. Were he not so sensitive to the changes within these woods (woods he has called home for so long now), he might never have noticed. But it is impossible to ignore when one is accustomed to only faint murmurs.
And so, for the first time in a very long time, he seeks out company that is not Briseis or his children. It is not with any kind of eagerness or desire for companionship, but rather with the agitated bent of one who knows something is amiss in his home.
And if there is anything he is truly invested in, it is the protection of his family. And by extension, his home.
Between one breath and the next, he has departed the secluded depths where he and Briseis most frequently found themselves in favor of the shadows lingering around the growing group of horses both strange and familiar. He does not feel any need to announce his presence, though it would no doubt be felt. If nothing else, the glowing yellow of his gaze peering from the shadows would be enough for the observant to know he is there.
They squabble about who is most fit to lead. The young stallion who seems to have started it all remains petulantly determined of his own fitness even as another colt excitedly suggests a different stranger may be better suited. Ether can find little in either to recommend them to the task, but he remains mute.
The only reaction he has is to the last Elio says, something vaguely threatening that draws a rather ferocious gleam to his yellow eyes. Of course, the stranger could hardly be expected to know anyone would find it difficult to eat Taiga alive. Especially when the shadows themselves have teeth.