If she had retained any fears at all, they faded like the sun over the horizon, falling into darkness and hidden away as her new-found friend smiled. It was a simple gesture, perhaps easy to fake, but Kahlua was trusting and easy hearted. Her own smile grew more resolute, convinced as she was that she had found a welcome friend- a joyous day indeed in the girl's life. Lena, the other woman called herself, and Kahlua repeated the name to herself, determined not to forget it. In an abstract sort of way, the girl's mind was already whirling and whining, testing its limits of endurance and thought, trying to force a rational trail into the otherwise chaotic fairyland that was the overo's mind. It was just inklings of ideas, but they held bright hopes for a peaceful future.

If the inklings had been solidified, the girl might have been thinking of Lace and Kaj. Torleik upon their borders had caused quite a stir, the painted girl thrown into the chaos quite unexpectedly, and her heart still hurt from the experience. Kaj's forceful words, claiming that their distrust of the unicorns was no better than the racist thoughts of the beings to the North, had hurt the girl to her very core. Was she really? Had she been so blinded by patriotism for the Edge that her impressionable heart was beginning to fall into the terrible blackness of racism? But then, had he been so wrong? Didn't she dance with fear most times she spotted a horn upon the head of another? Didn't she hold herself ready to run at the slightest provocation without waiting to see if the heart of the other was gold or charred? And was fear of the unknown, guarding yourself against a perceived threat, the same as ignorance? Does assuming that a tiger will attack you, distrusting their motives, while walking openly into the paws of house cat make you racist or just capable of assessing threats? But then, can you condemn the pure heart of one tiger for the crimes of his brethren?

And what of Lace. She was supposed to please him, to follow his every command, to walk in his footsteps to make him proud. Her king, her lord, one of just two that could steal her gift away from her. He commanded her to walk with caution, to be wary and distrustful of strangers, to guard her home against them first and ask questions later. But if following the commands of her leaders tore her away from her friends, was she really in the right place? Would Kaj look down upon her forever for doing as Lace dictated, for steeling her heart against the unicorns and assuming them guilty until proven innocent? Had her life really fallen to such terrible cross-roads? Loyal follower or loyal friend? Could she be both or was she relegated to a life of one or the other? It was lucky the girl did not think these things, could not conjure the words and thoughts in brain if she had wanted to, or she might have fallen to tears, brain beat to its limits by philosophical questions she had no right to ponder in the first place.

She was also lucky that Lena was so willing, so accepting. Was this the beginnings of something greater? The preening of the fox made a giggle fall from Kahlua's lips, bells chiming in the frozen wasteland, and she lowered her nose closer to the fox as it came upon her hooves. But as soon as she came, she was gone again, dancing across the fields of snow to some unseen location, playing the games of a fox, no doubt. Kahlua did not question it. She understood the need to run off and dance, after all. Instead, her voice danced lightly, “An escape from the heat of the summer and a chance to explore,” she said with a smile. And, not being able to contain a small bit of pride, she continued. “I delivered a glass statue to the Basin and found this place along the way.” Her blue eyes sparkled, feeling somewhat self-important in the moment, then flickered away from Lena when they caught a flash of red against the white. For a moment she was confused, furrowed her brow just to see what she was looking at, but when she found that it was another unicorn trailing the fox, she bobbed her head in greeting. Imogen had stolen her heart already- she was certain nothing evil could come of her actions. “Hello!”