At first, Mesec thought he was hallucinating when she emerged from the snow, thinking that a part of the night sky had detached itself and descended toward him. A messenger of his mother? He wondered if the moon was keeping an eye on her son, wondered what she thought of everything that had happened...

Those thoughts were dangerous threads to pull at when he was trying to keep himself calm.

But, then again, what wasn’t?

As she spoke he realized that though she was ethereal in appearance, her body was earthly - a mare with the stars in her coat and a storm in her eyes. A creature of night, like him, but where he was the darkness of the night she was the light. Even his silver markings only glowed faintly here, hidden beneath the rocky shelter and the near-silent fall of the snow outside. He stepped back to let her enter, a reflexive action welcoming her before his mind could catch up. He had been striving for so long to have company and to not be alone, he almost forgot that he needed should want to be alone now.

But he didn't want to be alone. He was tired of being alone.

“You… you shouldn’t.” Mesec stammered as he tried to take another step backward, realizing even as he said the words that there really wasn’t anywhere for him to go. For either of them to go - the increasing snow in the night was trapping them. Would it be better to brave it than to trap himself here with her? Someone he had no quarrel with, no desire to hurt.

The thought of being trapped frightened him and he considered brushing past her and entering the storm again himself but before he could say more, Lucius was there - sending soothing thoughts through their bond. Mesec had wanted a distraction, right? Perhaps this was it. Perhaps she was it. A voice outside of his own mind could be more effective, another body a stronger anchor to keep him in this moment and this form. The zephyr seemed to think it a good idea - retreating into a rocky nook to rest after their flight.

With these encouragements, Mesec’s ears slowly un-pinned and he straightened his stance again, adopting a friendlier face to replace the submissive and frightened one he had been displaying just moments ago. His silver eyes flashed as he looked from her to the snow outside their shelter. “I’m far from home too…” But he wouldn’t be able to go back, even after the storm passed.

His voice was quiet, this night time sanctuary from the cold didn’t need anything louder than a whisper. “I forgot how silent the snow is as it falls, even during a storm.”

So quiet that even with the wind, it was easy to forget that there was an entire world out there, just beyond those flakes. Maybe in this smaller world - the one that consisted of only this cave and the three quiet bodies within it - he could fool himself into believing everything would be okay.

"I'm Mesec."