into the sea, you and me
all these years, and no one heard
i love you, let's go

What even is the purpose of going to some place that exists only to suck up newcomers into herds that claim to be families, but in reality, end up being some of the most cutthroat places she’s even been? Is because she likes to let herself believe that Seoul would better herself from learning about the Threshold, that maybe in the future if someone drags them back into the lax, now obviously eggshell-ridden lifestyle of herds that she’ll know that they’re not crazy?
“Not go.”
Or maybe she could turn around under Hobgoblin’s suggestion, having already known full well that he’s right and that going isn’t worth it.
You can stuff your stomach in the woods before Frostfall makes for a good temptation for him to at least try to withstand this, but nonetheless fails. His views upon herds have been clouded from the start, but at the end of it all, they only managed to leave behind a firm, nasty taste in his mouth. Salt water and freezing cold temperatures, the lash of harsh words against teeth with tongues guided by minds heart-set on downfall and lies leave no room for improvement.
“Take away. Let know.” She can’t begin to let him know that she feels like that might be the best thing to do, running an uncomfortable, pained frown across her muzzle as he looks on in silence. Nothing creeps out of him spiritually except for the soft, distant hum of worry and hard-earned wisdom, something she’d never had guessed about him from the start, and the beginning of the fall to Hobgoblin simply not caring.
Maybe it’ll all be better then, written off in her thoughts where she hopes Hobgoblin’s reach won’t meet.
Either way, within fifteen minutes of their continuous wandering into the trees, Hobgoblin simply gives up in that way that he usually does, and at Seoul’s concerning crying from having to watch him fade into the trees, she takes the time to reassure her that after a while he’ll back to fight the battle again, relentless until there is either nothing left or Sikeax has no fight left in her, whichever one comes last.
Seoul is the one who finds the grouping, trading in Sikeax’s slow pace for her wings, trying her best at strengthening them as anxiety nips at her heels. The length of each flight comes out to right around five to six trees out from her bonded, landing on branches that never reach higher than ten feet. Every second spent in such locations is used up trying to catch her breath, her lungs and chest steadily growing a small ache as they heave.
It's during one of these instances of rest, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any glimpse of Hobgoblin wandering about the trees, ignorant of the fact that Sikeax has a good idea of where he is, and the fact that she's already told her that he won't becoming back unless needed.
The one with the scales is the one she spots first, quickly making her way into excited chatter in her bonded's direction, who's steady walk means that she's not going to be making her arrival quick enough. His size, the fact that he reminds her of the dragon mare at the festival and the fact that he has fire above his head draws her attention in and keeps it glued. She lets the seconds tick away in shifting her weight from side to side on her hind legs, raised up so that her front talons can easily fiddle with one another in each others' hold.
It only goes to say that she's partially disappointed and nonetheless annoyed that Sikeax takes only a small amount of interest when she sees him, only keeping her eyes on him long enough to admire the oddity of his presence and to think about how strange it must be to have scales.
Her attention actually goes to other things, looking onto the colt who was Aithneil's son, one of the two that the mare choose over Tyrath, who is now her own blood. Malice touches her chest and claws its way into her heart with no time wasted, earning a bout of concerned chittering from Seoul and a slight rise in Hobgoblin's sudden notice of the situation. She doesn't particularly wish for him to make an arrival, not with the amount of attachment he feels at her son. There's not going to be a good way for him to feel at the sight of Mathèo.
You don't have to come.
"Don't care."
She doesn't give him the turn of the head and utmost attention that he likes to believe he deserves when he shows up. Seoul spares a few seconds to send him her greetings, but finds it wasted, for her brother is too busy in figuring out his feelings towards his sister-in-blood, eyes and mind firmly attached to her presence. A slight sense of approval rears its head around the corner at her choice of form, admirable even.
"It might be better to go back, unless you're into some sort of strong devotion to meaningless causes." Surprise lights up like a lighter in the dark, syncing up with the quick whip of his head that Hobgoblin manages. He nearly wants to ask, but the feeling of a hidden smile crawling over his vacant-appearing face holds him back.
Her eyes flick in the general direction of her successor's child, the bastard that she had been so proud of when she's so carelessly abandoned her first, leaving him to wilt in the desert until she came to find him. Some of them are going to be worse than the others, though. In case you need to make the choice." She's off of him before she thinks he'll notice that she means him, his mother, the entire cause that left her with nothing but loneliness and fear, a black smudge that she has to work desperately to hide each and every day and a companion who's flame once burned so violently and proudly that she never thought it'd go out, struck down under the weight of hatred.
Seoul is too young to understand, but the sensation of their hatred running its fingers along the innocent landscape of her conscious, she can only roll her lips into an awkward frown and glare, feeling some sort of guilt but pouring any trust she can find into the idea that they're right.

OOC: why is sikeax so hateful in the threshold i'll never know
Hobgoblin is in his wendigo form. Please only tag me when it's my turn to post so my inbox doesn't clogged up and me confused.