It was good, wonderful even, to see a smile on the mare’s face when she greeted Mesec. She looked healthy and relaxed, an incredible change from the fright and uncertainty she had been riddled with on their first meeting. He was glad that his promises of a safe home had come true - it was never a guarantee, after all, in Helovia. She had learned that lesson the hard way with the invasion of the Falls, and the battles they had fought together on their journey to the Throat.

“I’m so glad to hear that!” And he was, it felt great that he had been able to help her out, give her somewhere to rest. He knew she had spent a lot of time running and he hoped that the Throat could become a home to her, somewhere to start growing roots. He’d be sad to see her leave if it came to that, if she wanted to go back where she had come from. She had quickly become a friend.

When the question was turned around for him he offered her a small smile and a bit of a shrug - careful not to disrupt Lucius too much with the action. “Yeah, I’m doing alright.” He didn’t elaborate, didn’t even know how he might elaborate, but it didn’t matter. A couple minutes later she was bringing up something that completely distracted him.

Mesec felt his cheeks burn in a blush when Najya brought up Ampere, the way her voice trailed off, the implications that were in the silence. He was already shaking his head, denial coming quick. It was easy to get lost in the thoughts on his own but he had never discussed this with anyone else before. “Oh Ampere she’s my…” Friend. She was always Mesec’s friend. He had no right to even stumble over the word, as much as he hoped that there was more. He had fragments of moments that he held on to, that gave him hope, but in the end it was simple. “We’re friends.” He confirmed, putting weight behind the word - more for himself than for Najya. More words tumbled out afterward - “We haven’t even been that close lately, that was the first time she had talked to me in a while. I think she’s still mad at me for bonding to Lucius.” Every feather on Lucius’s body rose in anger at the memory, for the moment resembling the angry little puffball that he had been when he was only a hatchling. The Zephyr resented the blue lightning mare for the anger she had shown to Mesec, his grudge willing to hold out so long as hers did.

Rolling his shoulder to shift his wings and interrupt the torrent of angry thoughts coming from his companion, Mesec finished with a shrug. “I wish I knew how to fix things between us.”