As his slow, almost leisurely strides took him further along the coast side, Apollo was unaware of the fact that he was no longer alone. His thoughts muddled his mind, stealing any cognitive responses to the environment and those around him. It wasn’t that he was being rude, per se, just… Lost. It had been a long time since the overo had felt such an intimidating sadness, and it felt heavy and cumbersome upon his normally boyish heart.

His thoughts turned to Andreas, his beloved sister, and he wondered where she was right now, or what she was doing. It had been so terribly long since he had last seen her… Did she remain in his home, in a herd that would readily abuse and overpower than be kind and gentle? For her sake, the unicorn hoped that she had escaped their grueling clutches. Would they ever see each other again, though? It was hard to say… Perhaps fate could play a hand in their favor for once?

Once more, Apollo gave his head a violent shake, gritting his teeth in frustration. Oh, how annoying this was becoming. He was tired of the angst, the sadness, and the all-encompassing uselessness that he was beginning to feel. Yes, he was prone to fretting like a newly-made mother, but this was getting to the point of ridiculousness. Inhaling sharply through his nostrils, the male paused and stamped a hoof, sending granules of sand floating upwards in a small cloud of dust. Apollo watched in mild fascination, honeyed orbs taking in the raining particles before his ears caught a sound upon the breeze.

’Fancy seeing you on the same side of the sea. Apollo, is it not?’

Lifting his head and turning it towards the voice, Apollo’s forelock whipped to the side, obscuring his vision from the feminine voice that had beckoned him. With yet another furious shake of his head, the stallion tossed his head upwards, horn poised to the sky to throw the annoying ebony strands away from his face. It worked, if only for a moment, and the medic spotted who had spoken to him. A coat of fine alabaster nearly blended into the bleached white of the sand, and he admired her for a moment, simply trying to recall who she was.

Had they met before? Oh, yes… They had, in the Thistle Meadow. Nadira was her name, if he remembered correctly.

“Yes,” he said, clearing his throat and allowing a smile to tug at the corners of his dark lips. The stallion hesitated a moment and then turned his body towards her so that they were face to face, and the simple action helped keep the wind from tossing his mane into his face. “And you’re Nadira, right?” The stallion tilted his head, honey-brown eyes looking the other unicorn in almost a child-like curiosity. There were few in Helovia who he actually knew and befriended… Most of them had resided in the Grey, and once more, he was unsure of his relationship with them. Except for Phaedra, of course…

His smile curled his lips even further upwards, his eyes taking on a warm charm to them. “It’s nice to see you again, Nadira… I hope you’ve been doing good since our last encounter?” Through his smiles and forced chivalry, which never truly came naturally to the overo, it was clear to see that he was bothered. His tone was genuine, as he truly did enjoy seeing Nadira again… It was simply that he was bogged down by a lot on his mind.

I can never fight for myself, but, for others, I can kill."