Apollo felt the gentle touch of Phaedra pushing her muzzle deeper into the muscles of his neck, and he let a soft, shuddering sigh escape his throat. It was strange… Merely minutes ago they were frolicking through these very waves, and now, the same waves were threatening to bring a slow, freezing death to the two of them. Oh, there was a reason that the black and white overo detested water… Ironic, that he might die in the very thing that he hated more than anything. The thought was beyond scary, bringing his natural terror of water to the forefront of his mind and causing his heart to beat quicker in his breast, but he kept a hold of himself, for Phaedra. For her, well… He would do nearly anything.

Twisting his neck in a surprisingly bold move, Apollo allowed a small, fearful smile to cross his dark lips. Soulful, honey-brown eyes, while tinged with terror in their own way, focused on the earthly, spotted Pegasus at his side, and ever so gently he brushed his muzzle against her elegant cheek-bone. His neck gave a soft twinge of pain in protest, but he didn’t care. Comforting Phaedra was all he wanted to do, to show her that yes, he cared for her. A lot. And even if they were about to die, he wanted to assure her that she wouldn’t die alone.

In the next few moments, Apollo was glad that he had acted when he did, for Phaedra’s warmth soon pulled away from him. Almost immediately he found himself missing her warmth… Her sparkling voice, always so vibrant, now sounded as solemn as the resigned look in her eyes. If there was one thing that could disturb Apollo more than the thought of dying due to his greatest fear, it was seeing such a look in Phaedra’s eyes. A look like that… It shouldn’t be displayed in someone so beautiful, so lively. It was just all so wrong.

“Oh.” It was all Apollo could say in return for her logical response, disappointment clear in his voice. A rough sigh escaped the bowels of his girth, frustration butting in on the anger that he felt. He had hoped that she could have escaped, that she could have lived on to thrive in Helovia… Honey-brown eyes travelled from Phaedra, back to the wolves, and then back again. The curious part of his mind still wondered just what the lead wolf had meant, when he said that their decision would be made for them… Did he mean the cool water, that would cause them to slowly die? “I guess then… Then yeah, there’s somethin’ I wanted to say.” Embarrassment caused the stallion’s head to lower, averting his suddenly nervous gaze from her face. He wouldn’t dare tell her his deepest secret, but he would tell her his most gratifying one.

“I mean, Phae… Just, thanks, you know?” The smile that spread upon his lips was genuine, yet tinged with melancholy. It was the soft kiss of approaching death that caused him to finally open his locked heart, to allow Phaedra to see his thoughts, devoid of his boyish insecurities. “For being my friend. You, you’re special, wonderful even, and I’m glad you found me in the Threshold and brought me into the Grey. I’m glad that you found it in yourself to spend time with me. All I ever wanted was to get to know you more, to be your friend.” He was assuming, that was true, but there was no time for questions. Did she consider him a friend, in the very least? Maybe, maybe not… Either way, now she knew how he felt, to an extent.

[OOC: Even though that one wasn’t terribly short, I’m find with keeping posts on the shorter side to make more progress. :D]

I can never fight for myself, but, for others, I can kill."