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Rhaegar sang to himself as he walked. It was a song he had brought with from his homeland, one about two lovers kept apart by faith and family. He had never sang this song before while on Kawani soil and he found the idea haunting that this might be the first and possibly last time it was heard in such a place. While other soquili might sing to make themselves happy, Rhaegar only had heart for the sad or longing songs now. Any joy he had was lost with the death of his wife and children. His voice took that sorrow and processed it into beautiful melody. He did not sing to lift his heart, he sang to express the sorrow that was within it.

He walked through the jungle that day, a place and climate that he had little experience with. It really was quite lovely how the sun filtered through the many layers of leaves and set the place alight in a soft green glow. He could appreciate the beauty in that.

Rhaegar's song cut off mid-note. He wasn't alone. He found himself looking at another stallion, a gray-toned regular with a blue mane and an aggravated expression. Had he been bothering him with his music? Rhaegar blinked slowly before greeting the stranger.

"I apologize if I disturbed you," he said. "My name is Rhaegar Targaryen and I mean you no harm." He had learned long ago that his kalona heritage could provoke a fearful response in some Kawani natives. Given the history of that breed in this place, he wasn't offended. He had just learned to announce his intentions swiftly.

Though Rhaegar was used to a rather wide variety of responses to his presence, he wasn't sure that he liked how this stallion was responding to him. The stallion stared at him with frank and utter disdain, forceful enough to make Rhaegar wonder if he somehow had some sort of reputation in the area. Could they have possibly heard of his father, the Mad King Aerys? Was this stallion about to call him the son of a skinwalker or one of the other insults thrown at him by the Usurper and his vile forces?

"I apologize again, then," said Rhaegar. "For trespassing." Distracted, he suddenly noticed features that he had previously assumed were markings around the stallion's ankles. Were those bloody slashes there? They certainly looked like it, but the stallion wasn't out of breath as one might be after an attack.

Rhaegar's expression grew troubled. He had known of the natural dangers of this habitat, of course. His education as a foal had covered what sort of fauna he might encounter in a variety of habitats. It was the news of hostile kalona and angeni that was surprising to him.

He thought of the days of his youth. Back then, if he had heard of a situation like this he might have gathered his guards to gallop out to meet and drive out the dangerous characters. Those were the days when he still had been able to make a difference in the world. Now, he could only shake his head with dismay when he heard of such things. He didn't have the power to change large things anymore, just small ones. "I greatly appreciate the warning," he said with sincerity. "Might you tell me where these kalonas and angeni are located so that I can avoid them?"

Rhaegar's own ears pricked up when he saw the expression of his companion change. He could also hear the distant sound of hooves. It didn't seem like it could possibly be that many soquili. Probably two, perhaps three at the very most. Still, from the way that Sabishii reacted, it might as well have been a whole herd.

He didn't immediately move when Sabishii pushed against him. He stared into the sound of the approaching others with a slightly morbid sort of curiosity. He didn't think he could fight three seasoned kalona warriors, but perhaps two. It sounded like he'd be doing the inhabitants of this land a favor if he was able to defeat the monsters.

"I do not fear them," he said absently, more for his own sake than for Sabishii's. Still, he didn't move, eyes trained on the sound of approaching enemies.

That statement was enough to startle Rhaegar out of his reverie. He snorted in disapproving surprise at being addressed in that manner, though he immediately realized why Sabishii had spoken so. He was putting his companion at danger by not following his instructions. He might be able to risk his own life for a cause, but to drag in an unwilling participant was pure selfishness.

Without a word, he turned and hurried to the hiding spot. His armor clinked as he went, but there was little he could do about that. It was a tough squeeze to get past some of the branches, but he managed to squirm through. He hoped that the approaching kalonas would find the location similarly impenetrable if it came down to a fight.

Rhaegar did his best to remain perfectly still. He was well aware of how noisy his armor was at even minor movements. The clinking of his chain mail wasn't so bad when he was just walking along, but if silence was what it took to save their lives, even small sounds could be dangerous.

He didn't have an excellent view of the ones approaching, but could make out some features. They looked like kalonas, and rather large ones at that. One of them looked like he had strange and small wings, perhaps stunted. Rhaegar was a little surprised to see that. He had somewhat assumed that the most vicious of kalonas would slay any child seen to be born with a defect. There were many questions that he wanted to ask Sabishii, but those could wait.