In silence, she watched him. The news hit him hard, it struck his very core, and even as she observed it, she felt the pain of the loss swallow her whole once more too. The little mare was but a shadow, from the time of her birth to the time she bonded with Akaith, to the time she travelled the world and finally settled upon Helovia. Always she had been a shadow, reclusive, solitary, sharing her mind and heart and soul with only Akaith. It was natural for her to return to that comfort zone of complete aloneness when something troubled her. It was difficult for her to admit her feelings, more difficult especially for her to acknowledge the love that resided within her breast for a great many souls that she shared her home with. But none understood that, except perhaps, her siblings - but even they had each other. Not bound by blood, her sister Rishima and her brothers had found their bond consummated truly at last, and Mirage was jealous. Jealous and saddened that she wasn't a part of it, that she could not embrace them - but then, they could never embrace her the way Vikram did. The dragon steed was a noble beast, one who held her heart truly - but he did not hold it alone, he never had and she doubted that he ever would. She loved him, but she loved many, and it was becoming increasingly hard not to act upon that deeply passionate, longing feeling.

Why, why, why, the word seemed to echo in her crown, Lace's voice pleading with her to know why she wouldn't, whys he couldn't possibly extend the burden unto someone other than herself. Mirage had told one other, she had confided her knowledge in Kri, and perhaps her daughter Amaris had riddled it out as well, but who would have understood exactly what the mare was going through, without her revealing just how weak and mortal she was? Mirage lived on the feeling of always having those around her never knew who she truly was, never figure out the selfish past she once lived, never see the weak, sad, depressed child that resided within her. Why must I love when all it does is tear me apart? Her own voice questioned Akaith in a foreign language long forgotten by all but they. It was what the mare resorted to when she was particularly insecure and troubled, and Lace's query had brought on a wave of doubt that shook her to the bone.

"I told no-one, save for Kri and Akaith." The little shadowmare spoke deliberately now, honestly and openly. He wanted the truth? He would hear it, then. "I could not tell anyone else. I could not run the risk of our enemy stealing truth from the lips of those I love through magic, or torture. It was better for the majority to be ignorant, for ignorance in this case would be their shield." It was a hypocritical statement, she knew, for she was a firm believer in the power of knowledge. But such knowledge as this was delicate and needed to be treated as such… Would he have done anything different, she wondered? "I don't trust just any creature who happens to wander into my life." An edge had returned to her voice, remnants of a lost attitude, and the mare curved her neck as she peered at Lace through each of her eyes, tilting her façade slightly, as if viewing him from multiple angles would enable to her see him better.

"Nor do I love many as deeply as I did Torasin, as I do Vikram… and you." It was a whisper, and the mare almost hoped that it would be drowned out in the weather that still thrashed about them. A yearning had awoken within her, a deep and ancient call, one that she did not want to hear but still it cried out to her. The mare stepped closer to him, steam rising from her back. "Lace… fly with me," sooty lips lifted as her words were aimed for his silver ears, her breath steamy in the night air. The little shadowmare had denied herself intimacies with Torasin.. And now that he was lost to her forever, she felt a regret, one that she did not wish to feel again…

The question remained.. Would he fly with her?

@[Lace]