“I know but still…” Mesec couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something that he needed to apologize for, some way that he could have stopped what had occurred. Guilt came too easy to the demigod, and it settled in for long stays whenever it arrived.

He feared the worst when her eyes dropped, when the hesitation was clear. She did not want to tell him the answer to his question and it only made him need to know all the more. What had he done? Lucius, from his perch on Najya, was too troubled himself to send soothing thoughts to his bonded. He remembered, but his memories were filled with panic and uncertainty. And finally, Mesec gets another story out of his new friend only this time it was about him.

“I transformed?” The word is strangled in his throat and he cannot even picture what he had turned into. He knew those that could shape-shift, never heard of any of them blacking out during the change. The word monster echoed around his head though she hadn’t said it, the assumption gripped at him. He was a wolf, but unlike those that had crawled out of the Labyrinth. A monster. This was certainly something new and in addition to the dozen of other directions his mind wanted to race in that moment he also wondered when this had come to him. Most magic he had seen was controllable but he had not chosen to shift, and why could he not remember what had happened when he had?

Najya continued to explain how he had gone after the wolves, how she and others had come to protect him. Aviya and “Ampere…” Her name was a soft breath, barely audible as they walked. He was surprised when Najya mentioned the blue mare with the lightning - there was no one else that it could be. She came to help him? Perhaps she did not hate him after all… It hurt less to think about her than it did Aviya so he focused there instead. Instinctively, he looked around for her now but didn’t see that black and blue figure. “Did I hurt anyone?” Because just knowing as much as she had told him wasn’t enough, this was the big question. The one he'd torture himself with either way, but at least now he had spoken it aloud.

And then, because Mesec’s mind finally found a direction that was not focused solely on himself and what he did. He noticed how exhausted Najya seemed - his own exhaustion was layered deep beneath the guilt and concern. “Oh Najya, I'm sorry. Do you want to rest? I was going to take you back to the Throat but I think it’s safe here now… we can wait until you have the strength. Meeting my mother usually results in some mental exhaustion.” A weak smile but it quickly disappeared - he shouldn’t joke about such things. “Guess you’re learning some of my story after all.” He stated, sullenly. She met his mother, witnessed as others attacked her - crying out for revenge, for justice.