As always he sensed her before gilded orbs were able to locate her inky form. A weight of eyes like cold fingers running down a spine, mere millimeters from the skin so that all that was felt was the presence of something else, a cold aura both frightening and enticing. The glitter of gold illuminated against the dark, overcast sky in a flash of light made the stallion turn his head in the midst of a leap, made him stumble and choke and a tall wave crashed into him from the side, enveloping his entire frame in frothing water for a fraction of a second. Then he emerged once more, soaked and trembling from shock and exhaustion. Legs shook beneath the bulk, he pulled himself up on the shore with the ocean rushing from a gilded back, glittering and gleaming even in this faint light.

He looked up, hesitating, almost reluctantly, golden eyes searching the gloom of the beach until he found it; the spot where the darkness appeared to have taken shape, a single solid point in this raging world of madness.

With the sea tugging at his heels the rover stood for a long time, simply facing the shadow mare. His expression mirrored hers in its empty facade, so closed and void of all emotion that it, in itself, became like a cry of agony in the wind. Ignoring the playful dragons, blind to the dolphins that came to frolic in the dangerous dance he remained, breathing, blinking, heart beating madly in the chest. Did he want this? Was he ready to face her, after all this time? Half the summer had passed without the two of them crossing paths, for he had avoided the misty home beneath the trees - and she hadn't come looking for him. Not until now.

Absent-minded a steel-colored neck, dampened and dark from the moisture of the rain, arched to let a sooted nose brush over the silver amulet that rested in the nape of the neck. A display if insecurity and discomfort that quickly had become habit, Lace had been unable to discard her gift to him despite the poor timing of its reception, reluctant to toss aside the only physical evidence he had of their bond. It was so frail, so brittle, like the first thin sheet of ice across streaming waters. Had it shattered after his thoughtless words, his foolishly reckless actions?

A deep breath initiated a slow march forward, where glistening black hooves pushed deep into damp sands - heavy, as though weighed down by a heavy burden. But he kept the head high, the neck arched and tail lifted like a pale banner, whipping and tossing in the fury of the storm. He went to face his queen, his friend, his beloved, and he wished himself a thousand miles away... but at the same time there were no other place on earth he would rather be.

Step by step he approached, proud and strong to the naked eye yet trembling like a chicken on the inside. Did she know how hard he found it to approach her this calmly, how difficult it was not to cower and give in to the urge that bade him throw around and run until he fell down dead? The silver knight felt his heart beat rapidly in the chest as he came to a halt, hoping that his face didn't reveal the chaos of thoughts that ran through the mind, slippery as salmons in a waterfall. For a moment he was quiet, took in her appearance with bated breath, repressing the desire to reach out for her soft maw, to close the distance and pull her tightly to his chest... He had a feeling it wouldn't be welcomed right now.

"Mirage..." he breathed, a whisper torn from the lips as soon as the word roll from the tongue and swept away - would she be able to hear him over the crashing waves? "We... need to talk."

May the gods be with him.

@[Mirage]

Dim vales- and shadowy floods-
And cloudy-looking woods,
Whose forms we can't discover
For the tears that drip all over!
Huge moons there wax and wane-
Again- again- again-