Mirage knew what went on within Lace. She could see it, the torment, the constant knawing and attacking coming from within. She knew the symptoms; she had been there. He was his own worse enemy, this she could see. But he tried and tried to shift the blame, ease the guilt onto someone else - it would not work. This mare knew of guilt, she knew of that deep, dark void - and not the same Dark void that granted her this magic, no - that fathomless pit of despair. Could he not see that she could help him, that she wanted to? No, and Mirage hadn't seen it then either. His torments brought up memories of her own, when that abysmal void threatened to swallow her up whole shortly after her own hooves had defended her own honour against a stallion determined to use her body for his own pleasures... To kill another, to be responsible for the destroying of another's soul.. It tormented Mirage then, and still did so today. But the mare had accepted the aid of friends when they came to rescue her from her own gloom, and Akaith had encased her broken soul in her own to get her through. What was it Lace was so afraid of? For it was fear, fear of something, -what? The dragon's thoughts were awhirl within her golden cranium, fighting between memories of her own black abyss and wanting to aid Lace with his.

"Even if I do care, reason for my being here is of such little import to you anyway, is it not?" Quietly she responded to him, her voice a soft hum, her stature barely moving save for her lips and a rhythmic sway of her long, rope-like tail. The games between the companions had finished, Akaith now circled above the gathering of her and Fajira's bonded, wishing there was a way she could help more. There had been times when the little queen had reached her mind out to others, to help them make it through that place of despair, but never before had they come across one already bonded with a dragon, Akaith was not so rude as to force herself onto their own bond. In her curious, draconic way she attempted to communicate to Fajira would could be done, her manner was serious and lacked any hints of the play they were previously engaged in.

Akaith was an older, learned dragon. Though she had met the Matriarch of Helovia at the Heavenly Fields with Vikram and her beloved bonded one, she was still a queen in her own right, and her telepathic abilities were akin to that of one who had trained how to invade another's mind for years. Akaith could send a thought to others, often she used this to aid in calling together the Qian, again she used it to ensure other members of the Qian were safe. But more than that, she could wrap her mind around another's completely, acting as a cushion (or indeed, something much sharper) until such a time that she saw fit to remove herself. Of course, that wasn't to say there were some out there who could resist her abilities, but they were few and far between. If anything, Lace was more prone to it thanks to his relationship with Fajira - but again, Akaith would not reach out to another's bonded with her own mind. So the queen tried to encourage the little white to be more insistent on her bond, to help Lace see everything his dark abyss had been hiding from him. Make him face his guilt.. It will hurt him, but he is hurting himself more without you. Fajira..

Mirage could hear her bonded making the pleas to the little white, and she was curious as to what the outcome may be of it. Was the white as capable as Akaith in impressing her mind upon her bonded? Or was Akaith particularly strong in her ability, or had everyone they had come across so far simply been particularly prone to it? Seemingly at random, a large log was dropped in the sand before them. Promptly a scorching fire was breathed over it, gushing from the mouth of the large golden dragon laying upon the sand. She did not feel the cold in this form, but she was not staying in this form forever. The log was wet on the outside, but inside it was dry still, and it took the flames and glowed an eerie orange around the edges of the charred timber.

In the contrast of the light, from where the stallion was standing, it was unlikely he would be able to clearly make out what was happening to the mare, as her head bowed again. Like the flames that licked the log before them, it felt as if they were consuming her flesh, as the shift altered her body again to restore the original form over her. Wings were seemingly absorbed into her shoulder blades, her tail spewed forth plumes of raven hair before disappearing completely. The marking upon her nape seemed to blur and cover her in dancing shadows, before everything settled once more, and a little black mare lay with her limbs folded beneath her, on the sand before Lace. She appreciated the log Akaith had provided, and enjoyed testing out the just how well she could blow her own flame, though with wry thoughts she noted the taste of charred hair on her tongue. It's going to take a while to get used to that. The pain of the transformation left her feeling drained, though her stony façade remained forever vacant of emotions. She would not be caught out again, in front of Lace, she told herself. Akaith crooned lovingly as she descended from the skies, having done her best to teach Fajira how she might help her bonded, even showing the little white how even now, she could lessen her bonded's pain by ensuring their minds were as close as ever, by directing Mirage's own thoughts back to the present.

"I know not what you want from me, Lace. But I can do nothing until I am given something to work with."