The slow progression up the mountain was well met upon their arrival, the mare's eyes filling with the image of the colt as his eyes fell upon the Basin for the first time. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat, not uncommon for those who were not used to such a hike on a regular basis as she had become, and it was not surprising that a young and undeveloped male like Ares, with his slight limp that had gone unnoticed in the Threshold as well as his young muscles, had found the trip laborious. His breaths came deep and common, his lungs attempting to regain the oxygen that his sinew had burned on their journey, but it was the statement that fell from his lips that drew the corporal's attention more than his inability to gallop up the steep slope that had brought them here. "I'm sorry if I held you up, I was born deaf in one ear with terrible balance and it makes such excursions hard for me," he explained, the look on his face sheepish and terribly uncomfortable by what she could glean just looking upon him as the words tumbled forth. The older mare simply smiled, her head tilting playfully as it had back at the Threshold within the first few moments of their conversation, the strange posture of Ares's crown throughout their conversation explained with this confession of his born ailments. "It is a hard climb for those of us with normal bodies, as well; the more you travel the path the easier it will become," her voice was sweet and kind in the frigid air, though she knew that in her youth, Ares would likely have received the brunt of her taunts and cruelty for what she now gracefully set aside at this moment. He was a cripple, by all means, a stallion who would never grow to the full potential of others who could hear through both ears and keep up with the fleetest of scouts, but Illynx knew that within the heart of such a being was more resolute will than she could find even in herself. Those who were faced daily with challenges like Ares would be had no options other than to grow strong or die, and from the eager way with which his eyes searched the Basin now, Illynx made a silent bet that young Ares would grow into a fine man one day, despite that which he believed made him lacking.

What he didn't know is that he had been born perfectly whole; her eyes ran up the length of his growing horn, admired the bright orange tint of his mane as it caught the dying light. She found his enthusiasm endearing, something she felt herself anytime she looked out on the Basin and it's unicorns, and she let him admire it in silence, her breath rising from her muzzle in strands of misty, silver steam. "How many live here?" he asked, and the corporal found that she did not immediately know the answer to that question. Several dozen, that was to be assured, and her mind traced back to the herd meeting, the number of horned beings that had gathered there. "Around fifty," she guessed, a half hazard assumption that she couldn't truly verify, and hoped that he would not inquire much further; she didn't much enjoy looking a fool, "every last one a unicorn, like us." She searched his face after these words to witness his reaction, to attempt to gather more information about what lie in the heart of this one; if he showed the right signs, it wouldn't be too long before Illynx would be bringing him to meet with Psyche, to determine with her long-term friend and Lady how the half deaf boy could be best used in their plots against the hornless.

"I know of many pretty girls around your age," she jested. The mare took a few steps closer to Ares, if he would allow her approach, her shoulder pressed into the air in hopes to playfully nudge the colt's shoulder, her smile warm and friendly as her voice sang out once more. "Sielu and Zima I know by name, and there are many others." A bright and lyrical laughter fell from her lips as she found herself unable to provide names for the rest of the herd's children, the golden marked mare finding better company with that of adults than the youth, and the irony of a corporal not knowing the names of who she protected on a daily basis was mildly humorous to the chocolate lady. "To think, a corporal, and I cannot even give them all a name." Her horn angled to a gathering of unicorns along the lakeside, the mare finding not a single face she actually knew in the crowd, and another thought edged its way into her mind; if this was her home, and they were nearly all strangers, how overwhelming must it be to arrive and not know a single soul but that which led you here?