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The grey fussed for a few moments, tending to the girl’s withered appearance like a mother to her child; brushing thick oily forelock tendrils meshed together aside at last to reveal the truth of the sadness haunting pale rimmed-blue. Immediately the insightful creature was aware that something was terribly amiss, and her mouth hummed quietly the worry building through her mind. Africa had not reason to act with any less affection- Sikeax was family, had lived upon these very sands beside her, no matter the infrequency of their meetings. That had always been the way of the Throat clan before the darkness, for as long as she had dwelt there; they were sisters of the sun.

When the other spoke, the one-winged Pegasus stepped away to offer the comfort of space, and the warm wind whirled swiftly to offer their nostrils the sour, brackish delights of coastal living. She did not quickly understand though, and the tranquil white mask beyond her pensive expression tilted responsively; attentively. Much wrong had swept through Helovia in recent months, and both fear and suspicion still iced much of the remaining population, but Africa could not decide if perhaps Sikeax (for some reason), held herself in one way or another responsible- of course, the sickness had been no one’s fault in particular. Again thoughtful eyes roved the length of the young horned creature’s forequarters, scrambling for some clue as to what trouble had swept the joy clear of her spirit. The only evidence prevalent to suggest something untoward however, was the worn nature of her appearance; the sagging posture, unkempt coat and grief-stricken glaze through her eyes.

"Can’t remember?" She mused quietly, ponderingly, more to herself than the champagne girl. There were snippets of her own life that were blank and empty; moments that her mind had pushed into the voids of oblivion for the sake of brittle sanity, and even now while she stood with new strength, Africa could find no trace of those moments passed. Empathy flooded her heart, and the mare stepped forward again to console her sister with quivering lips flush against the rough canvas of a neglected cheek. She whispered tenderly, "Walk with me. Let’s not stand like we don’t belong, here by the gates." She pulled her face away and turned to lead Sikeax further inland- to where the lake’s purity would shimmer light against their breasts and the lush gardens of green would soothe away burden of desolation.

Silas cast a watchful eye upon the pair as they began to move again, circling high above so that the radius he patrolled by their side remained vast.

As she walked, slowly and patiently; unwilling to push the tired soul across the brink of whatever capability remained, Africa asked curiously, "What is your last memory? Was it before the cave?" She had no way of knowing the extent of Sikeax’s violent curse- those, after all, who had been taken to serve the darkness as hungering, vicious wraiths had been quite unrecognizable to both their families and their friends. The grey knew not even whether Helovia’s Darkest Hour held any significance in this situation; as wretched as it seemed to be. Regardless, she would try most gently to probe the other’s frail mind and find out the turn of events leading to now- to help, and support her young friend.