Humming in acknowledgment of the reply to his question, the gray knight shifted the weight between his feet and contemplated the information quietly, all while watching Fajira from the corners of his eyes. Making sure that she wasn't going too far in her exploration of the mares large hooves, he found comfort in seeing how his other half sat up on the scaly hind legs and raised the little head up towards Delinne's maw, noses meeting as the dragon purred like some other feline. The taloned paws were gentle as they reached to hold the soft muzzle of the horned lady, and Lace could feel the pangs of fearless curiosity as the dragon acquainted herself with the other horse.

"If she gets too close you need only say so, and I'll convince her to give you room" he said to the mare, a faint smile tugging at his lips at their seemingly mutual fascination. Had it happened when their bond first formed the grulla might have grown jealous of the interest the White showed someone other than himself, but after long time and many hurdles shared together their bond was strong. Now he could share in with his comrades joy, allowing the brightness of her soul sweep away the clouds that darkened his thoughts, much like the towering clouds was beginning to block out the sun above. A cold wind swept down to tug at the pale tassels of his mane; he shook them away from the eyes and turned the ears to pick up on Paladins words as the stallion continued to speak.

He might as well have spoken to a tree however, because after only a few words it was as if though the slender stallion had frozen in places, hooves glued to the ground and the eyes far, far away. Had he heard correctly? It could be a trick of the wind, a wishful thinking on his part, a mere wordplay... But no, the other had mentioned the Tides. And not only the Tides, but Isilme as well. Lace tried to swallow, tried to speak, do something; but the wind must have stolen all the moisture from his tongue, because he couldn't find words. The news hit him like lightning, and all at once the old guilt came thundering down over him, draped itself over his shoulders and threatened to pull him to the ground. The knees felt weak, and as if from some great distance he could hear himself speak...

"The Tides, you say? Fancy that, I have spent time in the Tides of Isilme as well, some years ago now. It must have been before your rule there however, I don't believe that we have met before."

Was it his voice that sounded so calm? It was a wonder that he wasn't choking on all the things that remained unsaid. Was it really his face that upheld that smiling mask, as dark and jaded as the blackness that tainted his actual skin. So smooth, Lace, so pleasant. Like a cobweb gleaming of dew when hit by the first rays of sunlight, only beautiful because the spider can't be seen and nothing has been caught by it. He felt hypocritical where he stood, smiling so kindly to this lord and warrior, even while the crimes of his past remained unanswered for.

This time Fajira didn't ask. With a moll tuned trill she slipped away from Delinne and skipped over to the gray stallion, the wings flapping to aid her as she deftly climbed up his foreleg until she could stretch out on his neck, arms and legs wrapping soothingly around him as far as they could reach. Within their minds he thanked her wordlessly, allowed himself to sink into the graceful calm of her embrace. Like he had so many times before the soldier allowed her to take over for a moment, let her guide his mind to more pleasant thoughts; with a breath that sounded like a sigh he lowered the neck slightly, felt the muscles untangle themselves along the back until the legs finally managed to unlock. He had to think before he managed to pick up the trail from Paladins words, pieced the parts of the puzzle together and filled in the rest with guesses and hints from the White's mind. So the peace was unstable and trust was hard earned, here like everywhere else; it came as no surprise to them.

"We came upon Mirage when walking through the Threshold" he revealed, still somewhat numb to the revelation that there were other Isilmians roaming the area. "She seems like a pleasant person, and Fajira enjoyed the company of her Golden. On the note of the pegasus though... did they take over the lands completely? Wonder what happened to the cultists, I mean." It wasn't that he particularly cared for the feathery kin now for any zealous priests. It was just a question of mere curiosity. Or rather... Oh by the gods, who was he trying to fool. He was just desperately trying to gather his mind, keep himself from cross questioning the other about his time in Isilme and find out if they had any acquaintances in common. He really, really didn't want to know, didn't need even more horses to answer to.