How many times had d'Artagnan ventured into the Steppe to simply watch and think. That's all he did these days, watch. He'd become like a dormant volcano, capable of erupting, but not yet ready. Ready for what? The shade had reached a crossroads where two paths lie before him, one took him with Kou and to the life of an outcast. The other to the Aurora Basin. It had taken his leave of Time Mender and a march across Helovia to find Mauja for him to realize that having relied on the Frostheart so much may not have left him in good shape now. No purpose, no function. d'Artagnan had never envisioned the future as this dismal mess when he'd pledged his soul to the unicorn herd back when they had held the Worlds Edge. Out of all the relics of that time that still soldiered on, the Doctor bitterly admitted that it was he that had not dealt with defeat the best. He'd always been like that since being outcast from the clan lands, perhaps if his sire had not been so cruel when he was a child, then the shade would have turned out a lot more like Sacre. Now he was left here, a volcano, feared but not feared enough.

Aramis travelled alongside him, red tipped tail casually flipping from side to side as his paws latched onto the cold floor. Not particularly bothered about his bonded's mood, the hound knew his friend and that he had realized his past mistakes, perhaps now they could both return to how it was in the old days. Live once more before Lucifer sent for more souls to fill his army. There were still plenty of years left in the tank!

Brooding aside, the Doctor finally looked up to observe where exactly he was in the vast expanse of the wild Steppe only for his eyes to catch the mare in the distance. From his point of view she looked a lot like Aviya and thinking that perhaps it was his daughter, d'Artagnan and Aramis set off towards her. How long had it been since he'd last seen his favourite little demon? Far too long. d'Artagnan hadn't done a great job with his kids, but they all chose their own paths and it so happened that his eldest daughter followed close in his footsteps and thus close to his black heart. However, the closer he got the more disappointment began to sink in and the shade snorted a sigh. The mare looked very much like Aviya, but there were notable differences.

He moved in front of her advance anyway, the usual frown plastered on on his grumpy face whilst the wind continued to whip his hair in an annoying fashion. "Who are you?" His rough voice asked, it wasn't really a demand, but he didn't offer his own identity either.