"It's never worked before, I didn't really expect it to work this time around either.  I suppose I just needed some…distance."  There was a distinctly a sheepish note in her voice, but she pressed on.

"Quite literally, in this case."  Everything in her had been screaming for her to get away from what she feared was unfolding.  She refused to be pulled into another conflict having just lost everything to war.  She had no idea of the motivations - and they may have been valid motivations for invasion - but Najya had just sold herself on the very idea of peace and having the illusion shatter so suddenly…

Well...it took her to a place where her inner strength just wasn't enough to sustain her anymore. 

When the black and silver stallion suggested walking and talking, well, Najya just couldn't find it in herself to say no.  She hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was wise to tell this stranger her troubles - but the weight of shouldering the emotional burden on her own was crippling and wisdom simply couldn't outweigh the pain. 

"I'd like that very much, Mesec." She returned his smile with a small offering of her own before falling into step with the much larger, winged stallion.

"I think it goes without saying I'm new here," her hazel eyes flicked over to his silver ones with a knowing glance.  It didn't take an expert to figure out that Najya had not yet adapted to Helovia.  Almost everything about her screamed foreigner from the way she carried herself, to the lilt in her voice, to the leanness of her frame from years of living in the desert.  

"I came from a kingdom that was torn apart by war.  I lost everything - my home, my family, everyone and everything I'd ever known.  I escaped by sheer luck and the sacrifice of those dearest to me.  I came to these lands looking for peace and I thought, perhaps, I had found a fresh start here.  But it seems that conflict followed me into my new life as well.  I'm sure you heard about the invasion.  It just…It brought back a lot of memories and I realized it was a little too much too soon.  The timing honestly couldn't have been worse."  She paused then, but her mind screamed at her.  You were weak.  You weren't ready.  You were a coward.  She swallowed and dropped her gaze, unwilling to peek at Mesec's reaction to what was so freely tumbling from her lips. 

"That's why I'm here.  I had to get away.  Apparently I've made a habit of running from battles."  She let out a small huff.  She was caught in a paradox of her own making - on one side she was humiliated by what she perceived as cowardice, on another she knew that she made the right decision in abandoning a fight that was in no way her own.  What she failed to recognize was that her reaction was truly rooted in the trauma of the past months.  There was only so much blood and battle one could take before reaching a breaking point.  Though she may feel like she had reacted out of cowardice, Najya was many things - and a coward was not one of them.  She was still the girl who sacrificed herself to a greedy king with no thought of her own safety.  And in doing so she broke down the walls surrounding the coldhearted ruler's heart over time. Still, she wondered what Mesec must think of her, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.  Instead, she preemptively deflected - just in case. 

"I suppose that's the short version of it.  Now I'm here, wherever here is, and have to find away to begin again.  And I will, eventually."  Regardless of the scenario, Najya was unwilling to give into despair completely.  Optimism still bled through the darkness.   

"What about you, Mesec.  What's your story?"  It was not a question asked just to be polite - the little mare was genuinely curious about this stallion who had literally swooped in and taken an interest in her troubles.  Not everyone would stop for a mare who must have looked half-crazed running across the plains as she had.  She truly wanted to know more about him - and the honesty and curiosity burned behind her eyes.  Gods know that Najya loves stories.  She wondered if he would be willing to share any of his as well.