Throughout Yael's insistence that she welcomed such a long-winded, Amaris could not help but smile a little small, sad smile. She felt exposed, raw, unmasked before the mare's knowing eyes and warm encouragements. Amaris appreciated the mare, or at least she would once the fog of her current emotional state wore off - she did not show it overly much, a subtle pull of her lips here, a frown there, a deep sigh and of course the fluctuating tone of her words. But she knew that Yael would detect every nuance, that her fellow in rank would be able to read even that which Amaris did her best to school from her expression.

The goldenmare paused her steps then, and Amaris did the same, easing her aching limbs to a standstill and turning her full attention on to the mare, ears pricked, though the gleam from her eyes had dulled a bit, from the pain of her wounds or the neverending tale she had just told, she wasn't sure - probably a mixture of the two. As Yael spoke, Amaris felt very much that the words could have been spoken by her own mother, again, she was overcome with a yearned for physical closeness, for an embrace, a hug, a caress of affection - and she got it, in a sense, as the mare's golden maw reached out to touch on the spot where four new silver slashes lay across her chest.

She the spoke of souls and how the body is but a temporary vessel for the soul within - and Amaris nodded along, knowing this better than most, for the souls of past dragons she had always been able to summon demonstrated that quite efficiently. Whenever they appeared on this plane by her magical whim, they existed not in bodies, but as spirits, as glowing lanterns of their former selves, able to summon the fire they once used to ( and Amaris had an errant thought, was a dragon's fire linked to their soul? ).

The dragonmare appreciated her fellow's words, though she was weary and run down from the emotional turmoil of her story and the admittance of her fears. She tried to cling to the message Yael was getting across, and perhaps, after a rest and time to think, she would be able to process the words more thoroughly and express her gratitude properly to Yawl for saying them. The dragonmare offered a small, tired smile to her golden compatriot, hoping that it communicated enough what she was feeling, her fatigue, her gratitude, her general, aching need to rest very soon.

They were walking again, and Yael was asking another question, which Amaris spent due time mulling over so that she could give an accurate answer, but the train of her thoughts was derailed by the arrival of another (and Amaris wasn't wholly upset by this, though she was nearing the end of her social battery life for today). Amaris smiled warmly at the young, dark unicorn, welcoming her happily into the fold of their ranks - the Philosophers, never before had they seen such activitiy and enthusiasm. Amaris hoped it was all for the betterment of the herd, though she wondered at the practicalities of having so many individuals dedicated to thinking and not otherwise contributing to the lands.

"Hello, Akumi," she said softly, vaguely recognising the mare from other such interactions, ultimately pleased to be meeting her 'properly' but hampered slightly by her own fatigued state to be of much more use. She gave a promising look to Yael, something that said we'll resume this conversation another time, promise. Coming to a halt, the mare's wounds still sizzling from their interaction with the fire-cheetah, she lets the golden pegasus introduce herself and hopes to soon find her hovel to rest and recoup from the day's activities - though doing so without seeming abrupt or rude was always the challenge she faced.

Dramyrth, ever-present throughout, began sticking closer to his beloved, settling gently on the small of her back so as to better guard her. Though he felt no true malevolence towards the others, he stared harshly, expressionlessly at them, as if trying to send a silent signal to them all - his beloved was exhausted, and he wasn't about to let everyone in the herd have their share of her when she was already spread too thin across herself ( and, more importantly, him ).

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rambly, somewhat pointless reply is rambly and pointless xDD
Amaris is pretty worn out (timeline of this thread is just after she was burned by the fire-cheetah) and won't be able to contribute much more to conversation, but will post at least once more before bowing out ^^

@Akumi @Yael

Amaris