Fence had run from shadows before. But his had been true, breathing monsters; echoes of a past he'd never been a part of, but whose vengeful memories did not discriminate. Others had seen the faces of loved ones in the dark pits of the shadows' eyes, Fence saw only blackness. Now, as he ran through the fading light of the threshold, across dark lines stretched over a tangled wood and over bright flashes of intermittent light from between the trees. he felt that sort of terror again.

It became easy for him to forget exactly where he was, exactly who he was. Everything around him suddenly seemed a darker threat. Each tree, once towering plainly, now loomed. As his manicured hooves kicked up dust, tossing behind dead leaves and chunks of drying moss, he thought he heard the sounds of a chase. Now his fear was in vain, his flight from nothing but what his imagination had planted in his feeble mind. His gallop slowed as his strength ebbed, but until he saw the figures of the two mares before him. One, he recognized—the insistent white mare from the Assassins, who had seemed to make her way around these woods as frequently. The other was a stranger, sitting oddly upon the earth and yet seeming content where she was.

He stood at the edge of the scene for a few moments, gaining composure, before stepping out into the light. His heart still beat quickly, his breath still caught in his throat as he struggled to regain it, and his eyes... the light in them was still one ignited by worry. Yet he did what he could to regain some semblance of self and give off his usual, confident air. His ears perked to hear every word Accalia said, and with a faint snort that lacked no surprise, he noted how similar it was to how she had greeted the other mare. The Assassins, it seemed, were nothing if not persistent. Still, he refused to let his ill-will towards the band of outcasts show. Though they would badger and threaten those of his homeland, he was determined to take the high road.

"If it is a home you seek," the grey warrior began, his tones soft and kind as they struck the Orangemoon air, "Then I am certain that the warriors of my home, the Grey, would welcome you without hesitation to the safety of our herdland in the Windtossed Foothills." Even as he soothed his mind to recover from the stirring of old emotions, he knew he lacked no charm. He had always had a way with others, even if he had trouble remembering it. He reached into the void of a poor memory and grasped his own name tightly, lest is slip form his grip before he'd have a chance to introduce himself. But why waste time? "But, my manners seem to have gotten away from me. I rather think we're in need of introductions first," he nickered kindly, stepping closer to the mare, circling around Accalia and walking towards the stranger's left. "I am Lev Fence," he proffered, nodding his head slightly and letting his eyes light up in a faint smile.

Yes, let them light with cheer. Fear would be saved for another time.