It seemed that the speed of which Lena departed to show Liit the way to her home was unexpected, leaving the newcomer rather in the dust for a time. She was relatively aware of where Aurora Basin presided, she had made a brief detour. After she had momentarily lost sight of the bay unicorn, her attention had been captured by the distant roar of the ocean, and there she had wandered, reminding herself of the great sea that had brought her here, and the safety that had been presented to her with the ocean that she had found. So at the edge of this new ocean she had lingered for some time with the strange, painted mare before wandering in the direction that, she assumed, Lena had disappeared into.

It was nightfall by the time she found her way to the basin, whatever details she would have been likely to observe and admire during the day were blurred and hard for her to see, but what she did find was a great, glassy lake. The water was still, and the skies were clear, offering to her the glamorous and soothing sight of the sparsely spread out stars reflecting against the water. While Lena had explained to her briefly of the beauty of this place, Liit had thought she made up the sort of comforts that this place offered, and found herself standing at the edge of the lake with a sense of happiness in her gut.

Despite what had transpired on the beach, and despite what Abishia had told her about the horses in the basin, she assumed there couldn’t possibly be monsters living in the shadows of this place. It was nothing like the place she had come from, and that was notion enough to comfort her and put her at ease, even if she was worried that she was too far behind Lena to receive the proper information she required to make herself quickly at home here. Even though she seemed to be completely alone, she felt as though it would not take long for her stark white skin under the soft moonlight to attract the attention of someone that could, perhaps, answer her questions.

In the dead of the night, with the stares overhead and the clear lake water reflecting, Liit can think back on her life. There are times when she thinks of things, and becomes aware that they had never happened. The first time had been when she had fled from her home in the middle of the night, and when she had paused to catch her breath under an unknown white oak tree, and the voices of her family and elders rung out through the darkness. The pale mare had thought of a time when she had been chased by wolves, and after some long moments of consideration, she came to the realization that it had never happened. In her memory, she had felt claws rake across her haunches, and she had felt the warmth of her own blood- but when she looked, there were no scars on her pale hide.

That night, she realized she had some sort of an understanding with the darkness that swelled around her. At night, the air always smelt fresh and cool, and even though here, the air seemed to bite into her flesh when she breathed deep, and the sting of the cold in her nostrils was constant- she enjoyed it. For a moment she closes her eyes and just breathes, inhaling and exhaling, listening to the soft beat of her own heart… and she catches the soft titter of another horse’s hooves against the ground.

When she looks, she is thankful to see that Lena had been able to find her in the dark, even though Liit had taken a detour in getting here. Perhaps if she had made a better effort to keep up, she would have made it long before the sun had fallen and the rest of the Basin was fast asleep. “Sorry for taking so long.” Liit answers apologetically, thinking momentarily to the words she had shared with Abishia as the bay mare asks if she has any questions. “Actually… The girl, Abishia, that was in the Threshold with us? I saw her on my way here…” Thinking, she wonders if it is wise to tell the horned mare of what had transpired between the two of them, of the horses of the Basin really were monsters to be avoided at all costs. Pausing for several long moments, she gazes into the other mares eyes and searches for an answer- if she should tell her or not.

When it dawns on her that Lena must be as light hearted and gentle spirited as she had originally presented herself to be, Liit speaks up again. “She said some horrible things about the horses here… That they were, monsters, I suppose. Is that true?” She was so certain that the horses here could not be that cruel, that, perhaps, there were only a few bad apples in the bunch, and the others were immune to souring. She also feared that what Abishia had said was true, and that she was to be abducted into the ranks of militaristic monsters that were only interested in murdering and maiming.

When she had spoken with the young, painted filly, she had listened and she had so desperately wanted her words to be lies. It was that gentle belief that pushed her into the friendly embrace of the bay mare and allowed Liit to tell her what had transpired. When she thinks of what Abishia had said, she cannot help but link her words to the sorts of lies and stories that had been fed to her as an infant, forcing the pale mare to choose to believe that whatever the painted filly had said was false.

So many years and so many words, how she had wished to be deaf, for words to fall on her broken and useless ears- perhaps then she would find true peace. For some time Liit had wondered to be deaf, and perhaps assumed that being blind, deaf and dumb meant that she would be lead to an eternal and infinite bliss. Ah, but the Gods were not so generous. She was to hear all the words the others had to say, and see all the things the world had to show her, further saddening her heart and reminding her of the wicked things that had transpired in her youth.

While her hearing ears had heard everything that Abishia had had to say, her careful mind had been certain to seek proof first, and it is Lena’s hurtful look that provides Liit with the proof that she requires now. Reaching forwards, she offers a comforting gesture in the direction of the bay mare, perhaps brushing her get lips gently across the other woman’s shoulder in an attempted to upraise and untroubled the girl. “I think you are quite the opposite, dear Lena.” While the pale, mottled mare offered a look of consolation in the direction of her newfound companion and perhaps friend, she is afraid that perhaps she has divulged too much of what the painted filly had told her, and that maybe she was endangered, as she said so herself.

With the smallest hope of a change in subject, and temporarily satisfied with the answer that Lena had given her, Liit cast a liberal look throughout the dark and silvery lands before addressing the matter at hand. “Now, how about a tour then, Lena?”

It seemed as though her suspicions had faded, thanks to the kind nature of the bay unicorn before her. She had feared that the horses of the Basin would swoop down upon her like hungry beasts, tearing at her flesh in desperation to assimilate her to their cause by whatever means possible. Liit had been afraid, at first, to stop across the invisible line into the cool, wintery land, but what she had seen so far had been little more than a peaceful retreat from the scalding lies (she told herself that, they must simply be lies) of the people that were strangers to this place.

With a thankful sigh, Liit smiles as Lena pushes onwards, to put the unpleasantries of Abishia’s tales behind her, and the question of what to see first is presented to her. In reality, she wanted to see the whole of the Basin, to see what made it seem so quiet and peaceful, despite all the horrors she had heard only hours ago, and to perhaps see the other faces that made up this tranquil haven. “If we had the time, I’d like to see it all.” She answers with a soft tone and a gentle smile, glad to have been brought here by such a kind hearted creature.

Perhaps if she had been dragged here by someone else, she would have found reason to flee, but instead she finds her need for solitude dissolving and her desire to wander waning, instead she wants to wander in small increments. Liit would be glad to wander endlessly through this place until she knew every nook and cranny, and she would listen hungrily to what Lena had to say about her new home, eventually allowing the pale mottled mare to leave her shell and seek the company of the others that called the Basin home. For now though, she would be contented with a tour of the Basin. “Do you think we have time?” Liit asks, certain that the other unicorn must have other matters to attend to that she was being kept from in her eagerness to ensure that the dual horned mare was comfortable here.