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He listened to one, and then the other, the slow swinging of his head from peryton to white dog as slow and ponderous as his thoughts themselves. He listened, he watched, and only when the peryton had wandered off to drink, and the frightened-looking dog fallen fully silent, did he speak. And even then, only after thinking, for a long moment. He was so still and silent that were it not for his canine odor, to Magdalena's senses, he might have been gone.

"...Then the Dog would ask that you take him to the lion. If you hunger, he will hunt," he added, very simply. And then--as if in explanation, though with his mind on the odd deer-creature that had been crowding her--he said, "I am Void. I am Black. I am guardian, and servant. It is why I have been woken." He said this with utter calm confidence and nobility, quite certain that he had been deliberately hatched in order to serve and protect something or other. It was unlikely he meant this, specific, white dog; yet the tone and emphasis of his delivery seemed to suggest just that.

She must know he is here to aid. She must know that he is here to protect.

The thoughts were vague, but coherent enough to drive his words. He was here to guard and guide, and if that meant this white dog needed his help, then he would do just that. Black turned his pale, empty blue-grey gaze on Magdalena, quietly awaiting orders.

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The peryton lapped at the cool aqua and closed his eyes. He felt…godly, at this moment. A gentle coolness brushed past his coat and his ruffled up his feathers a little. A slow deliberateness overcame him as he raised his chiselled head then, water tricking off his wet muzzle and dripping onto the pool with plip plops. Dove grey eyes slowly swivelled to face Black, the guardian-servant, and then the blind dog. He smirked and nodded knowingly. These types – thinking they were to be oh-so-heroic as their life purpose – simply didn’t know better. It was easy to submit one’s life to orders and never fully wear a crown upon one’s head. Rafael started moving. Unnaturally sharpened elk fore hooves clacking onto the floor while he trailed his hawk talons behind with a grating sound that would surely send any bystander’s fur standing on its ends. All the while he moved forward, slender body swaying with alluring hips perfectly aligned with his shoulders. After a couple of steps he paused, and inclined his head towards both dogs. "I have no business with dogs,” saccharine voice rang out. Deer and bird were his kin. Dogs were akin to dirt. Amounting to nothing, at most a shimmer across a piece of lifeless gem as the light shone past. With that, he waited by the pool for the two canines to take their leave. One escort and the other, a sickly dog. He threw back his head and laughed, laughed as the Black would help the woman out of this area which could not contain anything more than his radiance and perfect, untouchable beauty.

Magdalena pointed her nose towards the other dog, where last she had heard his voice. She hoped and prayed that the dog would allow her to take him to Usui - moreso, that this being wasn't as malicious as the elk-predator that scraped his talons around her. She waited and listened attentively until he agreed, calling himseld Void, Black, a guardian. Yes. That was what she needed. What she wanted. Magdalena breathed quiet, only sniffling every now and then as she followed the sound of his voice and tried to close the distance between them.

The peryton must have decided that he'd had enough of them, especially since whatever nefarious plans he'd been concocting had been trumped; he announced he had no business with them and left. Magdalena felt her shoulders relaxing, and as she came close to Black, she uttered a tiny cough. A cloud of her own brand of bacteria entered the atmosphere in close proximity to the dog. So long as she infected him, she could track him as she tracked Usui. She quietly drifted close to him, daring to press her shoulder against his. "Walk with me." Magdalena said quietly, staring blindly off into the cave's blue glow.

Then, she moved. Gentle paws carried her away; for now, still ignorant to Usui's location, only intending to get as far away from the peryton as possible.

(Exit mag)

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Naturally, he had no way of knowing that the white dog had breathed bacteria toward him--and he might not have cared, even if he had known. Instead he inhaled it in ignorance, pale eyes watching her steadily as she approached.

When she moved, and it was not cowering and snarling, he was struck by her elegance--not in the way of a creature seeking a mate, but as a beautiful spire of ice or crystal might be admired. She was rather perfect, he noted, and then he dismissed the thought as unimportant, bar the idea that it might bring her undue attention.

When she spoke, he inclined his head slightly, half-bowing it in obedient acknowledgement.

"The dog will walk with you," he answered quietly--and then padded up alongside and slightly behind her, close but not crowding, sparing one glance back to be sure that Rafael was not in pursuit.

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((ooc -- exit Black. @Rafael ))

From the corner of his eye, Rafael watched both dogs exit. When the one called Black turned to see if he was giving chase, the peryton smirked and tilted his antlers, gesturing the way out for them. It was not in his interest to pursue the sickly thing. Touching her even seemed that he'd be sick. With a snort, Rafael lowered himself onto the ground and dozed off as soon as the dogs were gone.

-Exit Rafael-