He reacts in a way she does not expect, and for that she is at a loss. Although the world is full of so many that are different, most retain some thread of similarity that binds them, some modicum of predictability that Ampere has held onto in her turbulent life choices, even if she's not aware of it. The loud markings she bears is nothing compared to that of her voice, and ever less to her actions, all of which culminate in a desperate cry that says, notice me! She pushes because it makes everyone else push back - a fight is at least a way to touch, to engage, to have for that moment in time, undivided attention and regard. She thrives on it like a plant on water, but she is a stray bolt of lightning that needs a storm.

A bewildered expression crosses her features easily as the colt grows quiet and contemplative. Ampere feels at once guilty, which is decidedly less pleasant of an experience than that which battle brings. Why couldn't he have just bristled in defense and thrown a kick at her instead? She at least knew how to handle that.

Annoyance quickly set in as Ampere continued to try the only she knew - to push him away. He was making her uncomfortable and she did not like it. Her ears hugged her poll, a downward movement that extended to the draw of her lips. "Trust me, it could still get worse," she muttered cynically and turned away from him, her wings readjusting so he'd be unable to see most of her as well. Yet still he persisted, full of a certain naive hope that seemed inevitable with youth, though perhaps it was just his personality - wasn't she much the same, given the certain conditions?

He was easy enough to shrug off, even if it was a different kind of fight than the one she liked, or at least he was until the last phrase left his lips.
...you just looked, lonely...

Instantly the hard shell that contained Ampere splintered. Her head turned back around, blue peering over the black from of her wings and in that motion the rest of her exterior fell away into shambles. The lines of her face softened and pooled with a palpable grief and it was all she could do not to sob like a fool before him. She was quiet for a bit, warring with herself and the tide that had swept her away internally. "Is it so obvious?" she managed to whisper, the sound like a strangled choke that swept out with an underlying fear. If he could see it, then who else?

Thankfully the appearance of Tandavi provided a much needed transition off the topic of Ampere and her noticeable loneliness, like a birthmark she'd never seen but had shined on her ass since birth. An ear flicked forward at the sound of hoof falls clicking off the stone, the sunburnt maiden appearing from the depths like the golden beacon in this unlit hell. Ampere blinked, her lashes working to rid her of the humility and the terror that rested in the wrinkles of her irises, polluting the clear hue. This was another child, and like Sacre she held hope in her breast still and spread its warmth with her tongue. Ampere wanted to resist, to tell them they were being childish in thinking this would pass so easily, but she hadn't the mindset to after being so exposed. Perhaps there was some truth to be had from them, if only she could look beyond their years, as if she were so old herself.

"How?" she asked, quiet and hesitant, as if the answer were one she was not entirely ready for.