Syri sat on the hill and observed the rising sun as he mulled over the words Estan had told him the night before. Jae had some important matters to tend to and thought it would be best to have Syri stay with Estan at the cabin since the king had returned. The zeta furrowed his brows as he wondered why Jae did not want him to return to the castle. 'Is it because I am no more than a servant?'
The zeta's insecurities began to envelop him until Aska's voice sounded in his head. 'Syri, you know Jae would never see you as a lowly servant.'
'That is true, but it does not hide the fact that I am going to clean the castle when I get back.' Syri responded to his wolf.
'But that is different. You would be cleaning the castle because you want to return a favor.'
'That is also true. But I wonder why we can't go back just yet.' Syri tucked his knees against his chest as he wondered what Jae was going through. The zeta gave up on his fretting when he concluded that Jae had a good reason for delaying his and Estan's return. 'I hope everything is okay, Jae. Please stay safe, Prince.'
The zeta continued to sit on the hill and watch the sun rise in the sky until it was midday. Syri's eyes began to droop as he pondered whether he should take a short nap on the hill or return to the cabin and make himself a cup of tea. His thoughts were interrupted when a neigh sounded in the wind. The zeta's eyes snapped open to see two majestic horses trotting to him. The pink-haired stood to his feet as the horses slowed to a stop as they reached him.
Syri stood in awe of the two horses. They were of a different kind than Ajax and seemed to be of the line of wild mustangs. They did not have the wolf-like features as Ajax did and appeared to be pure mustangs. The horse closest to Syri was a radiant white with dark blue eyes while the second was copper brown with golden eyes.
The zeta was mesmerized as the white horse came to stand just a few feet in front of him. Syri slowly reached out his hand and placed it on the lower tip of the horse's nuzzle. A small bray left the white beast as the werewolf began to pet it.
"Where did you come from?" Syri wondered under his breath as he realized the two had practically appeared out of thin air. The pink-haired swiveled his head around to find the origin of the two beasts. A distant neigh brought the boy's attention to the foot of the hill just before him that led into the valley to see a team of horses milling about. A gasp left the zeta as he observed the beautiful beasts. The horses were of various colors, ranging from red, white, black, golden, spotted, grey, and brown and ranged in size, indicating there were several family units within the team.
Syri turned back to look at the white creature standing in front of him and let his hand roam to the side of the beast's face and down to his neck. "I wonder what your name is," the zeta pondered aloud as he stroked his hand down the horse's neck.
'Dyren.' The zeta's brows furrowed as a foreign voice sounded in his head. Syri's eyes widened as he looked at the horse in shock before pointing to himself. "Did you just talk to me?" The zeta inquired in awe.
The horse remained still as he gazed at the small werewolf. 'Is that so strange, Zeta?'
A stunned breath left Syri as he heard the beast's answer. Curiosity filled the pink-haired as he recovered from the shock of the talking beast. "How did you know I am a zeta?"
'Zetas are the only werewolves who can talk to us.'
Syri looked at the horse with excitement. "Then you know other zetas?"
'I used to long ago. You are the only zeta I know currently.'
"Oh, I see," Syri lowered his head as the single thread of hope of meeting another zeta was cut.
'There used to be more of your kind. Why are there so few of you now?' Dyren inquired in the zeta's mind.
"Zetas are considered mutts and are often either killed or abused for power. We are nearly extinct."
'Then how are you alive?'
"I hid as an omega," Syri answered. "And I have someone who takes care of me and protects me. That's why I am here. He is making sure it is safe for me to go back."
'He seems like a good man.' Dyren commented on the zeta's savior and protector.
"He is," Syri replied with a smile. A moment passed as the zeta took in a breath and looked around at the beautiful scenery before inquiring, "Do you live around here? Or are you passing by?"
'We are a migratory team. We will remain here for a month before continuing on our route.'
"Then may I come to visit you while you are here?" The zeta asked politely but not without excitement. He was intrigued by the talking beasts and hoped to learn more about his kind as Dyren clearly had a past with zetas.
'Of course. Call my name, and I will come.'
A smile covered Syri's face as he bowed in thanks. "Oh?" A small sound left the zeta's mouth as his gaze focused on the copper horse standing just behind Dyren. "Hello," Syri gave a small bow in greeting to the copper horse.
'Hello, Zeta.' The copper horse's voice was not as deep as Dyren's, and its quality was borderline female and male. Syri could not quite tell whether the creature was female or male solely from the voice.
"May I know your name?" Syri inquired cautiously. He could tell the golden-eyed horse was more reserved than Dyren and did not want to spook it with too many invasive questions.
'I am Geneth.' The creature's voice was soft as it responded. 'May I inquire about your name?'
Syri smiled at the horse's inquiry on his name and happily answered. "I am Syri. It is nice to meet you, Geneth."
The zeta was too intrigued about the two creatures to let their first conversation end with greetings, so the zeta and his new friends conversed until the sun was on its route to set.