“Of course, it will be no trouble at all.”  An obvious lie but Alysanne truly didn’t mind. She was going to need to find her way out of here too, anyway, and she couldn’t in good conscience abandon someone in need. The next words were a surprise, coming from the other mare - the words quietly spoken as though she was nervous. Nervous about Alysanne? Was she a frightening image right now? Mentally exhausted, trying to put on a good face, and bleeding freely from a wound hidden beneath her wing? “Thank you.” It was all Alysanne could think to say, though it didn’t feel like a compliment. She didn’t consider the gash on her leg, the one her feathers were sopping up most of the blood from, something to be proud of. It was a sign of her weakness, her foolishness. How could she possibly think to get into a spar again? After her one with Tembovu had been so disastrous?

But she did not wish to invite more conversation on the matter, afraid that she might crumble in front of this stranger and take too long to rise again.

Thankfully, the pretty striped mare seemed just as eager to latch onto a different topic of conversation - her voice turning light at Aly’s question about where they were heading. Of course, the herd this mare was getting back to happened to be the one that Aly had complicated feelings about - but she’d rather internally grumble about the Falls than focus on her injury. So she smiled, a strained but warm smile, when she replied. “I’m not from there but I have been before - and luckily, know where it is.” How she wished she didn’t, though. Or, at the very least, she wished that she knew where it was for happier reasons. But she struggled against the memories, reminding herself that Adria, as she introduced herself, had just joined. She wouldn’t have been there for the invasion. Perhaps she didn’t even know the treacherous Czars that well either.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Adria.” Small talk was easy for Alysanne - it came naturally to her and was a simple way to distract herself from the fact that she was pressing her wing as tight as she could against her side in order to stem the bleeding as they walked.

“My name’s Alysanne, but most just call me Aly. I’m from the World’s Edge.” This probably wouldn’t be an appropriate time to tell Adria that she’d be better off switching herds. So, instead, she asked another question as she kept her eyes on Hemlock to see where he was moving. The small brown and grey owl was still visible among the foliage and kept her updated though their bond. Fortunately for them, it seemed to be a pretty straight pathway to the edge of this odd forest. “Are you new to Helovia?” After nearly four years living here, Aly still found it impossible to tell who was a native to these land and who, like her, had drifted in from somewhere else.