He didn't know what to think.

It was Frostfall, it was snowing, and everything just hurt.

His heart felt incredibly heavy, as though someone had opened up his chest and filled it full of cumbersome, crushing stones. He was physically bogged down by his own thoughts, sluggish in his movements, fire and passion gone from empty honeyed eyes, and lonely. Oh, so lonely... 

Around him, the silence offered nothing save the sound of frozen tears drifting slowly to the equally frozen earth. It was eerie, the sound of falling snow, but somewhat soothing. His body lay crumpled in a folded heap beneath an overhang of barren trees, legs tucked close to her undersides, the snow falling down beneath the open slots of wooden limbs above him. They floated down, finding purchase upon the somber overo stallion, where they melted only seconds later.

He was a sad sight, but none would come around in search for him. It was he and Zola against the world. Or, in this case, against the snow.

Ugh.

'Apollo...?' The said feline's soft, lisping voice echoed in the back of his mind, and the Merciful's honey-brown orbs opened slowly to regard the kit. Zola was perched below his chin, curled up against his chest, narrowed sockets 'gazing' upwards at him through non-existant eyes.

"I'm fine." It was a lie, and Zola knew it, but instead of judging him or hating him for it, the black cat only snuggled closer to the overo's chest, ears tipped for any odd sounds. She detested that her bond-mate suffered these bouts of incessant depression, but nothing that she thought of could cure him. The only thing she could do was be there to love him and support him unconditionally.

Lowering his head, Apollo wrapped his neck about his blind companion, letting his eyes fall shut the moment that she, once more, began to purr. That, with the sound of the falling snow, made for a macabre form of lullaby, and it threatened to lull the stallion to sleep despite the chill that slowly set into his thick black hide.

Even though her bond-mate was lulled into a light slumber, Zola was quite aware. Her lack of eyes made it impossible for her to see who was approaching, but the sound of beating wings interrupted the soothing lullaby of falling snow, and shortly after came the sound of dainty footfalls crunching snow. Apollo was asleep, or at least half asleep, and so his closed eyes denied the black feline her own vision, but she could feel that this stranger meant them no harm. Still… The feline’s purring comfort faltered, her head poking out from beneath the Merciful’s jaw, tiny nostrils flaring as she tried to familiarize the stranger’s scent.

It was the soft, soothing sound of a familiar angel that snapped him from his doze, the chill worming its way through the thickness of his winter coat and into his skin. He had been unaware of the cold as it settled into his body, making him almost feel numb, his extremities heavy and cumbersome. A gentle pressure against his shoulder roused him, and Apollo’s honey-brown eyes slowly fluttered open to focus on a petite, slender face right before his own, large, round doe eyes looking at him in blatant worry and care.

A tired smile pulled at the overo’s dark lips. “Miss Resplendence…” She was speaking, saying something, but the stag couldn’t focus. His thoughts were murky, as though wading through thick sludge, and it was nearly impossible to focus on every word that escaped her pretty lips. The unfathomable depression that gripped him had lessened, chased off by the brutal chill that seeped into his bones, and the Merciful was completely unaware that his body quaked in shivers.

’… You’re going to freeze to death…’, ’Come back to my hut.’

She wanted him to follow? Okay. Alright. He could manage that… Maybe. Apollo gave a low grunt, nuzzling the tip of his nose into Zola’s warm body before he released a lethargic sigh, and slowly, unsteadily, the gentleman’s legs unfurled from his body and carefully he pushed himself upright. Snow continued to collect along his back, but he paid it little mind, and instead focused his tired eyes on the ethereal creature that was Resplendence. Why did she look so angelic, standing there in the snow like a valiant lady-knight? So otherworldly? So pure?

He wanted to be happy to see her, but his heart was numb and heavy within his chest. She was a friend, a close friend. A sister? Maybe? Apollo didn’t know. Right now, the cold, the depression, the angst that seemed to always close in on him kept his mind churning and unable to focus. Through the myriad of emotions and confusion, however, a thought struck, and he grunted out a soft inquiry.

“… Do you have anything to heal a suffering heart?” He questioned, lips forming the words slowly as his eyes stayed locked on Resplendence. Zola straightened and shook the fur from her black coat, and Apollo had half of the mind to remember to lower his head, grab the kit by the scruff, and twist his head around to deposit her on his back. The ground was no place for the blind feline, especially in the snow.

”I’m sorry, I shouldn’t talk like that, I just… I’ll follow you. To the hut.” Warmth was what he needed, and maybe the presence of a good, loving friend.

ooc: Sorry if this is funky. I posted on my iPad. xD