She could see that she had irked him and she regretted her audacity for a moment before trying to avoid it altogether. She had never wanted to be so unfeeling as to cause others discomfort, but it was hard for her to understand their emotions when hers were so few and far between. With a curious turn of her head, she cast a longing gaze out across the plains of the Arch and debated her current course of action. She wanted to find a friend in Roland, but she could not help but struggle with the force of her pained heart. She did not trust him and did not know if she wanted to… but overall, she had no vices against being civil. After all, it was not every day that she found anyone worth sharing her stories with, even if they were only small fragments of truth amidst an ocean of lies. “No need to apologize. I have no reason to hold you accountable for my foul moods.”

She looked hopefully to the chestnut stallion, still unable to figure out if he prodded her with the idea of satisfying ulterior motives. However, with a sigh she let her uncertainties die. He was not asking for her darkest secrets and he did not come to pester her with intolerable inquisitions… No, he was just a creature looking for comfort in the middle of a wintry storm just the same as she. Her sides expanded with her breathing and as she let her worries drift out and along the gusts of freezing wind, she turned to him with a new resolve. “A life spent swindling does not sound like much of an achievement. But I must ask; what on earth were you swindling and lying about that could possibly influence you to become a Phantom here in Helovia?” Her eyes had widened in curiosity because, at last he had shared with her information worth attracting her undivided attention.

For a moment she pondered what he must have looked like back then- a common thief working for his own survival or perhaps he had been ordered to commit such sin? Her fantasies were able to run away with her for a while before she finally turned her gaze back to Roland with newfound fascination. They were obviously from two totally different walks of life and yet when stuck together… they were nearly the same. Her past had colored her in the darkest shades of agony and his has tainted him with a sinner’s touch. How they expressed their former lives was what made them drastically different and perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing after all. He was friendly enough and while Chernobyl wasn’t typically and understanding creature, she did try to give others the benefit of the doubt.

“I suppose that the cold requires some ‘getting used to’, but I can honestly say that it never gets any easier. It’s just a mental conflict that causes you discomfort…” Perhaps that was why it was so simple for her to adjust- the cold in her heart had eased the physical cold of her body and her life in the Basin. She didn’t like to admit that she was comfortable residing in the frozen wasteland for such a dismal attraction, but she hadn’t found it to be difficult to adjust upon coming to Helovia. She was just merely acclimated to the dreary forecast of her lack of optimism and it allowed her to move seamlessly from one extremity to another. However, when the Unicorn spoke once more, she could tell that he was not so naïve when it came to accommodation. After all, he had warmed to her quite satisfactorily even after all of her attempts to buffer their conversation.

“And if I said yes, what would you have of me?” The devilish smile that followed such a tempting sentiment did little to deflect her growing curiosity for Roland. Odd name aside, he was an intriguing animal and for an instant she was glad that fate had brought them together- even if the circumstances were less than appealing.