The roan bronze-and-silver dragon approaches the River fast - too fast perhaps, but he doesn’t care. His dive towards the water is reckless, but to snatch the deer drinking on the shallow bank, he has to be.

The animal turns, but not in time to get away. It shrieks as the dragon’s hind claws rip through it’s hind, and pull open muscle and artery, even if he can’t lift the chunk of living meat in one swoop.

There is a small moment in which the dragon makes his large turn, in which the deer tries to struggle and passes out after pulling itself one body-length away towards the trees, bleeding dry still as the huge predator lands in the river water and starts to feast on his meal - a warm, half-living deer is far better than most of the scrawny snacks he gets back home.

The brown forest animal doesn’t live long after that first bite, if at all. Once, Leilan told his adoptive daughter to kill them quickly and make sure they were dead fast and good before feasting - but he feels ravenous today, and he doesn’t make time to consider the deer’s feelings all the time.

Or those of anyone who might be watching, really.

His dragon-shape is coloured similarly to his horse-body, and thanks to this, it seems everybody recognizes him easily. Or that is, everybody who knows the horse well enough. This time, it is the opalescent purple mare from Loess - Castile’s bonnie love, number.. who knows really. It doesn’t matter. It just surprises him sometimes how attractive such a feral smoke-smelling horse apparently is. Even in times where he bites and burns.

The dragon licks his teeth clean while lifting his head to stare at the woman, his eyes yellow and somehow still cold; a hunter’s glare. But she doesn’t close the distance, addressing him from the relative safety of beneath the trees - a place he’d have a hard time maneuvering. He shakes his long neck, the ice-horns making soft ticking sounds when they touch one another, the golden gleam over his bronze scales catching the light as well. ”You still should come tomorrow. I’m not in the mood for politics right now.” he tells her, ready to dive down back into the deer while it’s still warm, but interrupted once again by the scent of the Taigan boy.

As the young kid whispers, the ice dragon stares at his shape, determined to find out why his scent is familiar besides the mist and redwood trees. When he gets to it, he gives the boy a rather sinister grin. ”It has a distinct hatred for mind-readers in general, but it still knows exactly how far away you are from home. And it has half a heart to tell Lilli about it, too.” His tone changes from cold and perhaps threatening in the first sentence, to amused at the boys’ expectations of his mother’s rage when he gets there. Leilan is quite certain that the chestnut mare will give her son a reprimand of the kind he personally wouldn’t want to see from even a safe distance.

His grin widens a bit, turning his yellow-green orbs from the green-eyed boy to the winged mare. ”I’m sure my friend here can tell you how great I am at escorting lost boys home.” Then, he blinks in a cat-like manner, and for good measure, takes another large bite out of the deer.
It would be a pity to let it go to waste, after all.

He would have had a load of fun if he had been a mind-reader, for sure - especially with Nashua, who still doesn’t know what to make of the dragon before his eyes. Leilan has half a heart to leave him guessing, though now that he is no longer as cranky due to his hunger, he can cut the yearling male some slack, he supposes - and Oceane as well, maybe.

Swallowing his meal for now, he assesses the leftovers shortly, as well as eyeing the two horses nearby. Oceane is clearly unhappy smelling the dead dear, and the boy... hmm, could use a better example, he supposes. Thus decided, the ice dragon dips his head into the running river to clean it, as well as swallowing a gulp of the cold water to clench his thirst. A small shake relieves him of most of the dripping liquid, and is followed by an icy breath that encases the deer carcass. He’ll find a way to transport it later, or perhaps he’ll come back for it himself; at any rate, it’s not yet a claim for the crows, and it will be preserved and non-stinky.

He seats himself near them, an follows with a very horse-like snort towards the young boy. ”I know the distance between Taiga and the River fairly well, Lilli-boy.” he tilts his head, seeing as he has not heard the boy’s name - and starts to wonder how thick he is exactly for a moment - then shrugs. ”By dragon-wing, I’d say it’s about the same as from Taiga to the Isle.” he adds with a knowing smile, thinking he gave the hint pretty stylishly.

At Oceane’s comment, he tilts his head towards her, his eyes losing any yellows or greens, making room for a warmer brown as he gives her a nod. ”When you visit, maybe bring him along?” They both have to see - have to understand why he doesn’t visit Loess any more, at least why he hasn’t done so recently. Besides, it’ll be fun to see Cinder again, he thinks. The boy’s a budding energy bubble, and he could use someone more light-hearted around, at least for the day.

Boys will be boys, for sure, and the dragon outs a short, loud rumbling laugh at the yearling’s question. ”I’m right here, kiddo.” Still no name. ”How about an introduction, ey? I’m Leilan from Icicle Isle, that’s Oceane from Loess.” he starts, curling his ice-spiked tail along his body, the tip swaying sideways however so as not to reach either horse before him. He awaits the boy’s introduction curiously, thinking Lilliana would have taught him better manners than that, no doubt.