Every step she takes, it is echoed by those of a stallion far larger than her. She had not beckoned him when she had set out for the Aurora Basin, but nevertheless he'd been at her side. The injuries that scored him were far worse than the badges she wore on her blushed coat, small scrapes from where he had gone easy on her in their fight not long ago. Her pride was still inflamed because of it, refusing to accept that he had not found her a worthy enough opponent. The shivers that wracked his frame were more than apparent, but she said nothing. Why, when she had told him clearly he need not accompany her? She had not forced him to, after all. Still, a part of her felt slightly guilty, but her frustration was getting the better of that emotion. As she yelled out into the frigid air, annoyed, Tingal gave a soft laugh and spoke quietly to her, assuring her they were close and would not be lost for long. Hotaru gave a soft snort to show she'd heard, but nothing else escaped her pale snowy lips, blurred blazed face twitching softly.

Did he really want to know why she sought the Basin? She had given him no reasoning when she'd told him where she was going, but she felt it quite an invasion of privacy despite him being one of her closest friends. Her emotions towards him were conflicting, and she'd honestly been expecting him to stay behind, wishing for solitude to figure things out for herself. "Not here, Tingal. It is...a sensitive matter." She'd composed herself, breathing deep through her nose, and her voice was once again soft and mannerly. Perhaps she acted older than her young age, but she could care less. It was only another reason for others to treat her with the respect she would grant them, should they deserve it.

"You're not meant to find it."

Hotaru turned her long tiara'd crown towards the bloody mage that had spoken the words, pinning him with her dual irises, curiosity in her gaze. The herd scent upon his coat was easily recognized, though it was not a musk she'd smelt before. "One of it's greatest defenses, I'm sure," she said softly in reply, a hint of amusement sparkling in her gaze. She felt as if she was going to like this fellow.

The dual horned brute seemed wary of Tingal, and Hotaru's jovial look became slightly wary, though she took a step towards the carmine coated stranger regardless. He was the only one who could lead her to the place she needed to get to, and she would not waste this opportunity so readily. Again he spoke, soft, almost charming, and Hotaru gazed at him evenly for quite a few silent moments. Her brow was heavy with the ivory weight of her heritage, the one he echoed, the one he held ties with through family and herd. She had to trust him enough to tell him, or she would never redeem herself.

"My father hails from the Aurora. My Godmother Faelene does as well. I know there are no flowers in the place I seek, no ease in the way of life you live. You don't realize that I don't want that kind of life." Her mind goes to Tingal, worried. He is an equine by nature, the faux crown he wears unable to hold true under daily inspection. Would his gentle golden heart break, knowing she wanted to venture into the cruelties of a herd rumored for its racism? Would he follow her despite all the difficulties and dangers? Her heart ached, for she knew she was a terrible person, and wished he would not. He did not deserve that kind of pain. In truth he did not deserve to be chained to her, and she wished she could free him, but time and again she'd tried. It only ended up hurting them both, because despite how much she wished not to, she needed him too."I come from the Foothills, and the Grey. I have been scorned by my family and mocked by my leader, shoved around by nearly everyone. I want to show them they are wrong," and her voice is a growl of vengeance, a snarl upon her lips twisting her beautiful features, eyes flashing with anger.

"I want to prove to them that I am untouchable, I want to see them broken as they have broken me. I ask for guidance, a home, a mentor. A challenge. I seek your home because I have been treated as a lowly servant, and I want to be a Queen." Her entire body is vibrating with anger, injustice, passion. Oh, she wants this. She wants this so badly it makes her ache and she can no longer control her words, so many confessions slipping through. In her lyrics she betrays her past, showing this stranger how lowly she was treated, how she had once been dirt beneath her family's hooves. Blood meant nothing to them if you weren't beautiful or bold. Had this stag ever been treated like that? Had he ever had his name smeared, his worth broken and stained?

If he had, he'd understand.