Shame flushes pink cheeks as she recalls how horribly she'd treated all the other mares who had dared to hang off Leliel's shoulders like parasites. It still made her feel embarrassed, remembering it. "I only treated them so cruelly because I didn't want them to take you away from me...childish, I know. But I wanted you to feel that comfortable with me, to want to seek me out for conversations. I was jealous, afraid they'd be more appealing, that they'd take the only thing I'd ever wanted to keep." It's hard to admit, especially considering how abnormally sweet he was alluding to being with each word he spoke. Muriel had never wanted to examine her own actions, anyways. They usually instilled in her a sense of disappointment and guilt. Leliel claimed everyone liked her, but he'd never liked her, had he? He claimed he didn't hate her, which she was okay with believing, but she'd been on the wrong side of his temper enough times to know he hadn't liked her before his disappearance from Helovia.

Anger bites at her insides, and her sigh blows warm air towards his muzzle. "Maybe I would have moved on. But even if I did, I wouldn't have forgotten you. I wouldn't have stopped missing you. Maybe I can't make you believe it, but I know it to be true in my heart." How sappy could the little roseate girl be? Apparently there were no boundaries. If there were, she crashed through them with her brutal honesty and bluntness. Sometimes she wondered where the filter on her mouth disappeared to, the moment she was born. She sure would like it back.

Neither of them are moving, merely standing there, sharing air and nervously laying their secrets out to be clearly seen by the other. It took a lot of courage, even more strength, and Muriel was already beginning to feel the uncertainty setting in. As if her body didn't hurt enough on its own, she had to start attacking her insides.

"His brothers accepted him, he helped burn away the darkness. The Gods grant so many gifts to those in Helovia. Even if you don't trust them, I will do it, if it means giving you back your sight." Her words are final and strong, resonating with surety. Not like her at all, to summarize. But it felt right. Muriel had always believed herself to be weak and useless, but now she was beginning to see that on the inside, she was strong. How she chose to use that stubborn will that had kept her alive in the absence of the male now opposite her was unknown. Truthfully she didn't know how to use it, or what for. If it kept Leliel safe and happy, though, she'd take it.

Exhilarated when he does not move away, her breathing shudders, unsure what to do next. With Onni, touch was easy, almost like a welcome home. With Leliel, she feared so much as blinking at the wrong moment, terrified of shattering such a precious, rare moment. Violet eyes are pained when he speaks, clearly hesitant. "Never loved? Leliel, I have always loved you." She's quieted by their muzzles touching, and she sighs softly in contentment. "I can show you how to love. Even if you end up using it on someone else. It's the one thing I'm actually good at." The thought of teaching him to love, and him not feeling affection for her, nearly rips her heart to pieces. But she imagines him smiling, laughing and nuzzling against some lucky mare, and she realizes that even if it's not her she'd do anything to make him that happy.