Still suspicious, Duster stops petting Mercury and rests his hand on its side. "They're experiments where two different animals are put together to make a new one, or sometimes one animal and a machine. They're really aggressive. The opposite of what your horse is."

He stares into its eyes. Calm, happy, enjoying the petting and not a hint of murderous spirit in it. Those were the eyes of a gentle creature. "You must have treated him very well."