How much time had passed since the Grey had successfully invaded the Foothills? How long had it been since Mirage watched from on high, with several others, as those that were left to fight in the wake of abandonment by their own lead struggled against the sheer numbers the Grey marched with. Mirage wondered at how her own kin would survive should she ever be pulled away from them and faced with a similar circumstance - it was something she did not enjoy lingering upon for extended periods of time. They had prevailed while she was captured as a prisoner of the Basin - but only just. Nothing but death could cause her to leave them, and even then, she felt like she would come up with some way to linger and watch over them, care for them still.

When the vaguely familiar scent of Tharos crossed her nostrils she stopped her movement and thought about what she knew of him. It was curious that he should come here - the steed, so swift to mock them for not taking part in the fighting, only to faint in the battle that was only going to be lost by the Foothills, and then proceed to be healed by the Edge's own healer, Torasin. He had spoken some.. Mildly tension-stirring words to not only herself, but Aaron, her Glazier, as well. The mare did not quite know what to think of the stallion. Was he valiant? Honourable? Noble? Just because he was willing to support the 'losing side' of the battle, did not make him these things. Mirage had supported the Foothills, in her own way, a way that would not have jeopardised the alliance between the Edge and the Throat. The healers of the Edge had worked on souls from any herd or calling - it was not their decision to let one die and another survive when all could be saved.

Did he understand that? Respect that?

Respect was something he apparently was lacking. Remembering the tense circumstances that they had met on that fateful day, and even now, she considered the fact that he had simply crossed the borders without waiting for an escort, and was summoning someone to him… She wondered if he was simply a physical being, with too much energy put into increasing the size of his muscles rather than the size of his brain. She only had these actions to judge him by, these snippets of interactions that gave her the initial impression of a stallion probably capable of handling himself in battle and life's simpler pleasures, but not necessarily one who dealt with delicate politics of herd life - like simply waiting at the borders.

"You rang?" Dulcet tones murmured from nearby, as the mare, who had been wandering with her shimmering, image-distorting cloak upon her dropped the flow of magic, and stood before him as an averagely small, unassuming shadowy mare. Golden eyes peered at him without blinking, without shifting their focus, her expression guarded, clear of most any emotion and thought - merely passively watching him, reading him, awaiting his response.

Eyes of molten gold roamed over the steed before her, drinking in what she could of him, piecing together everything he proffered. Of course she noted his own pupiless gaze, but it was something she adjusted to with fair ease - her sister was similar, but instead of a white, blank page, she held eyes of dark, deep, fathomless black with no identifiable pupil in their depths. He was marked most curiously, his body held the tone of a fit soldier, who had perhaps taken a beating in his last war and while had been healed, was still healing from the effects of said war.

He bowed to her, going so far to just about kiss the ground she stood upon. The mare herself merely took this in her stride - there were many in this land who bowed to her, who gave her respect when she did not demand it. Her entire herd followed her despite her initially not deigning to ever 'rule' over a gathering of souls. And yet, here she was, a leader composed of followers all striving to spread their equalist thoughts and desires across the world. As her dragon watched the actions through her own eyes (Akaith was currently engaged, busily entertaining the draconic twins Mirage had birthed almost a season ago), Mirage felt a swell of vanity rise in her chest. It always did amuse her when Akaith so readily accepted the grovels of others - there were few others in this world that the little queen thought to be deserving of respect in this world, but she felt that all should bow down to her bonded, even if her bonded felt differently.

Words began to trickle from his mouth then, and the mare ensured her ears were directed forward with mild interest to capture them all. Amusement flickered behind her eyes as he mentioned her not being what he expected - what did he expect? What sort of reputation had she earned for herself that she would be expected to appear any differently than she did right now? It would have been interesting to know - but he continued speaking, and thoughts of all that were left for dust as he brought up a very interesting piece of information.

"Tio." She repeated the word, clearly enunciating it, her voice carefully guarded to be nothing but a monotone expression. The steed was a threat, not necessarily to their lands directly, but to their kin in the South, the Dragon's Throat, Kri, Onni, Cirrus, and the rest of those she had come to know and treat like members of an extended family one only saw at major gathering events. "What information might you hold, Tharos?" It was now that the mare saw him with renewed eyes, wondering at how and where he might have gathered this information - the same way she had, by sneaking about with her magical cloak hiding her figure, and simply using her eyes and ears? Or was it something more, personal? Did they share a past, a history? The stallion knew the commerce that Mirage worked with, at least - knowledge to her, was just as powerful as the most potent magic. Though she had been the reason for his survival after he so foolishly fought in a battle that was already lost, she had done that back then with no thoughts of payment nor repentance - but she was not foolish enough to turn down an offer of redemption when it was offered in return.

The little shadow mare waited.

She did not mind waiting, it gave her more opportunity to watch. Not only that, it presumably meant that he was thinking over his words, choosing the right thing to present to her - or perhaps, deciding the best way to lie to her. The mare would not know for certain either way, not at least until he began and finished his speech. Once again, her ears pressed forwards to capture his every word, and even as he revealed some surprising facts, her expression remained guarded, passive - she simply accepted the information he presented with a small, subtle nod of her dark little cranium.

"I appreciate honesty." She began her reply, her voice once again carefully controlled to speak in only a simple monotone. "What you have said cannot be easy to admit." She added rather simply. "He has threatened the wellbeing of our closest allies and friends, and therefore, he has threatened us." The edges of her voice became slightly more coloured by the passion she felt for protecting her own, her kin, her family.

"Do not doubt the combined strength of the Qian and her allies; we are a force to be reckoned with, even by your father's standards, I'm sure." But was she sure? He did make a very real threat, but he went about it in ways that seemed to be, to her eyes, foolish. Tharos had mentioned earlier, that he was unfit to lead, due to lack of experience or otherwise - was he still that way? Once again, Mirage had only her own experience, a brief, hidden interaction, and now, this stallion's words to rely upon. From his lengthy speech, she recalled and replayed his last words in her mind's eye.

"How do you propose to bring him to justice?"

He launched into speech again, explaining away how Tio's mind worked - and the 'logic' as it were, failed to reach Mirage. The Throat had not behaved that way - had they? Kri had entered into a contract to keep the Grey from allying with him, and it had worked - the Throat had not heard of a threat from him since. A handful of warriors had aided the Grey in taking over the Foothills - they had fought directly against Tharos, in fact - and they had come out victorious, more experienced and with wounds that they would have gained from sparring in practice against one another anyway. They had begun construction on a wall, a structure so great that one could only get over it if they had wings, and it was heavily patrolled. They didn't need to work 'harder' as such, because they had enough strength in numbers to spread the heavy load evenly across many strong backs. Everything Tharos spoke of Tio's strategy was simply untrue in the case of the Throat - they were stronger than ever with the warning in the back of their minds, never growing complacent with what they had, always being on their guard.

And besides, they had the Qian as their allies. They were not about to lose a war to a fool with no allies.

The grulla continued to speak then, not of strategy (for clearly, he didn't have one), but more on the heartache his father had caused him. Mirage listened with a sympathetic ear, despite the expressionless façade she wore that gave nothing away to her innermost thought processes. Tio sounded like a horrible brute, one who lusted for power but did not know what to do with it once it was achieved. Mirage lusted for power - mostly in the form of knowledge - and for most of her life, it had been for the most selfish thing of all - her own survival. The survival of her bloodkin had followed soon after that, and then, she found herself loving so many - mostly all who called the Edge home held a place within the beating muscle of her breast, mostly all of them had earned that place, they had proven t time and again - she did not love easily, but when she did, it was a potent, powerful force. It was her combined strength and weakness - but I digress.

"Fear is not an emotion I feel when thinking of Tio." The mare spoke quietly, murmuring the words more than speaking them directly to the steed. It was true, she felt confident that the Qian and her allies could withstand his onslaught, and she understood full well that while it might not be easy for them - some may get injured - she still did not see him succeeding. She simply would not let it happen. "The threat Tio made was to the Throat, and they aided the Grey in taking the Foothills." She stated for the stallion's benefit, wanting to make sure his was not disillusioned in the silent request he was making to her - to join the Qian. "My Protectors obey me. They listened when I requested they stand down in aiding the Foothills so that the alliance we have with the Throat was not threatened. I wonder, are you capable of the same obedience?"