[OMG I SUCK SORRY]

They walked in silence. For some it would have been awkward, but Öde was accustomed to the company of quiet, with nothing but his own thoughts rattling around, each strand a different voice muttering in the dark. It gave him better focus too, for walking, and gradually his balance improved enough that he wasn't teetering beside her with every footfall. Still, he was weak, and he hated it. Maybe if she'd let him drink he would have been stronger.

He pouted, thought about running off, but decided against it. He would fall surely, and that would only garner another round of laughter. Besides, she was not mother, what did she care if he left? Not even mother had, not really. He hadn't left, she had, but it was still something of the same. He'd stay. He'd stay because she was strong and he needed her now.

I found that Lena seemed rather smart too, and gentle. I could learn something from her, something different than what Mother had to say. She spoke of gods and kings and blood, but she was...different, even I could tell that. It didn't make me love her any less, or heed her every word, but I was sharp enough to recognize that several teachers were often better than one. Afterall even that gray colt had taught me something about clouds and dams.

Lena could prove more useful than a pair of warm legs and dry teats (not that those were useful at all...). She could help refine me. Kings needed to be groomed, mother had even said as much. I never told her, but I always thought that was why she had failed, why He had always disliked her. She was wild, she was ugly, she was no better than that whom we ruled over - dirt and plants and scum. I would not be that.

They came to a stop at steaming pools. Öde's red eyes kept wary watch on them, unfamiliar with such a bubbling, warm oasis among the deathly cold. He looked to Lena for guidence and found her at ease, so he willed his bones to settle too, managing something by the time she spoke.
He looked up at her, a ripple of darkness against the white world. The Basin. This word didn't mean much to him at face value, but he interpreted the heart of it; she was inviting him to stay. He had almost forgotten he had to consider her choice in this matter. He had already decided to keep alongside her, but she offered more than herself didn't she? A home, a herd. He had never had a herd. He was excited and nodded vigorously. "Stay in Basin," Öde agreed just before slipping into the pools.

He found them incredibly relaxing and invigorating. He had trusted her, and she had brought him this. His loyalty blossomed, though it would always be overshadowed by his selfishness, loyal first and foremost to himself and his god.

[We can just end it here if you want?]