There was a funny feeling in his gut. Like how it had felt that one time when he'd eaten unripe blackberries, only the painful twang resounded much deeper inside him this time. He'd felt heartache once before in his life. That time he'd almost begun to believe in love, almost given in to the wonderful eyes and soft touch of another, almost allowed himself to drown... But it hadn't lasted, and once parted from her, the knight realized that the feeling had been superficial, dishonest and untrue. It had been little more than self-gratification on his part, and the aching soon passed - probably thanks to Fajira.

This was similar, but not the same. It wasn't for his own sake that he ached now, but rather for the sake of the gentle lady who so bravely had laid open her very heart. For him. And as he couldn't find words, when he hesitated, she apologized.
It was the most heart wrenching thing he'd ever heart. Guilt draped over the shoulders, weighing him down more and more of each timid, apologetic word. He felt like such an asshole. Would it have been so hard to give her a smile, say 'Me too' and play the part she obviously must want him to take? Another stallion might have done it, another would have slipped into the part of the lover without a second thought, soothed her heart and made her happy.

But it wasn't in his nature to do something like that. Lace was too honest, with himself and with his friends, to ever want to hurt Tor like that. It would have been the cruelest thing, to create a lie out of something so precious.

He remained wordless as she pulled away from his touch and began to back off, tongue stuck at the gums in a dry and useless state. A bell rang in alarm as she turned to walk away though, and before he had a chance to think through his actions the legs were moving, neck reaching out to stop her...

"Wait, Tor. Don't leave, I.. You didn't do anything wrong. " He reached out to touch her whithers with the nose, but just before the soft velvet made contact with her skin he paused, hesitating. What if she didn't want him to touch her? She'd pulled away just now... He didn't want her to hate him, but he couldn't let her walk away either.

"I'm sorry. You took me completely by surprise, that's why I answered so poorly. Can.. can we talk about this? Please." There was a worried gleam in the eyes as he waited, hoped for her to respond. Please don't let her disappear, please let her stay and talk this out with him. This was a serious matter, not something he could or should joke away or just let slip away.

Above all else, he didn't wish for their friendship to be affected. It meant too much for him, the vagabond who hadn't settled down or befriended anyone seriously anywhere since he left his homeland so many years ago. This bond, however fragile and thin it was, it had to be maintained.

If Fajira had been able to see into his mind at that moment, she might have noticed something something at the core of the stallions soul. A reason why it was so important that Tor could walk away now... But the dragon was blinded, the bond numb - and she was too busy chasing dragonflies over the surface of the pond to pay attention to the two horses.