It had been a long and rather interesting day. d'Artagnan was travelling back from the fateful Heavenly Fields and found himself wandering through the Threshold. Aramis was by his side and had now cleaned the blood from his coat and paws, the red markings that littered his body ceased glowing. The pair returned to their stalking gait and senses were on high alert as they crossed the claiming grounds. Many strangers came here as well as horses from other herds, a wise horse walked through these woods with his body well tuned for action. It was rare for the Nightshade to bother with the Threshold, most of the time he stayed up in the mountains, but when he did venture down the crimson Doctor did try to make a point of drifting through the woodland that he had mixed experiences with. It was a given that most would see him, his face, hear his voice and immediately turn his offer away. d'Artagnan found that mildly irritating and was the main reason he never bothered with the Threshold.

Following the hoof prints of another through a section of the wood, he thought back to his time in the fields and smiled. It was just like the other foolish paint mare he had killed, they both just had the unlucky business of running into him in a rather bad mood. Though it was becoming apparent to d'Artagnan that his unpredictable madness was more often taking over his senses, it seemed that the older he got the more he lost his grip on reality. How long would it take before he well and truly slipped into insanity. He surprised himself when he thought about it and his mind flinched away, did he really want to live like a raving idiot who foamed at the mouth and drank the blood of others? Parts of that life seemed appealing yet, would there come a day when he couldn't control it? What if Kou got in the way or one of his children ... He shuddered physically at that thought and pushed it away from his mind. It was something to consider later, not now.

Sighing, he continued onwards until Aramis began to growl and he noticed the monochrome mare for the first time. Her face as white as snow and a set of horns crowning the top of her head making her race the same as his own. Attempting to summon an appearance of a smile, or grimace in the Mender's case, the pair walked over to her and stopped a few paces away. Head tilting to one side as his mane was whipped around in the wind. "Do you have a purpose for being here sister, or are you simply lost?" He asked in his gruff tones.

He watches her through bored eyes as she encounters Aramis for the first time a nods silently at her resolve, happy to find a mare so brave when out in the fading light. Happy that she seemed to pose no threat, the hell dog sat back on his haunches and rolled a long pink tongue out. Watching her through gilded eyes as he scratched an irritable place by his ear, making d'Artagnan wonder briefly if the dog had fleas. He certainly hoped he didn't. Turning his attention back to the mare he noticed her suspicion as her lips moved to signify that she was indeed lost. The blood bay snorted once in blunt amusement, but awaited her next words in dry anticipation as an inky tail thrashed between legs. Could you really blame him for being bored? After the events of the day, he found himself rather tired, even though he hardly lifted a finger when he had twisted fate and killed the golden mare that called herself Solstice. He took a few more steps towards the splashed unicorn in order to get a closer look, falling to a halt not too far away and noting with an increasing interest that her horns were made of a strange material. Pearl perhaps, but it was hard to tell in the fading light.

The Nightshade smiled at her question, noting she seemed to posses quite an attitude, but that was never really a bad thing. Maybe she was more of a fighter than most mares or found bravery easier. Eyes narrowing and with a shrewd tone his lips slowly part "Purposeful, spirited one." He said with lighter tone that spoke of his humour. This one word conversation didn't seem to be getting them very far and the Mender decided to speed it up a little more, eyes moving to the darkening horizon and then back to the mare, wondering if she would be afraid of the dark. He certainly hoped not.

"I am d'Artagnan the Nightshade of the Aurora Basin, travelling back home to my mountains. Who might you be? If you tell me your name then maybe I can make you ... Unlost?" He chuckled darkly at the last word, if it even was a word, he guessed probably not, but he wasn't in the mood to cough up a nice fancy word. Aramis yipped happily at her, his mood distinctly changing the more the herbivores conversed, he was just a puppy after all.

d'Artagnan watches her, feeling a faint moment of triumph surge through him as she seems more than willing to hear his words and act upon them. She laughs strangely at random moments, but it doesn't seem viscous and more light hearted. Like mares usually laughed when their over active brains thought of something that amused them, d'Artagnan could never grasp that same mental humour. He, of course, had his own kind of humour, but he wasn't sure if the mare before him would enjoy that form of funny. Dual coloured pools watched her edge closer to him, the crimson stud remained unmoving as he wondered if she'd think differently of him if she knew about what he had been doing earlier. Death seemed to be a sensitive subject to most, though the shade never really understood that emotion. How could one recoil at something so marvellous? He would never truly know and quite happily he'd take his ignorance of that to his grave. Ironically.

The monochrome one speaks again, her tone made him nervous, mischievous mares never went down well with him. Though he admired her spirit, the shade never really knew how to deal with their shifting patterns of speech that would be one minute happy and the next angered beyond belief. He offered her another hollow smile, the mare who called her self Tangere, was more than willing to follow him into the cold and the majesty of the great northern mountains. Aramis yips brightly at her decision, attempting to bat the mares nose when she reaches down to him before turning on quick haunches. Scampering off through the woodland, eager to return home once again and so was his weary merlot friend, who'd seemed to be having some company on his own journey home.

"Of course, Tangere. Follow me spirited sister" he turned then, heading off at a trot in the same direction Aramis had fled. Ears tilted forwards with an eagerness in his stride. Only once more did he turn back to the mare, to see if she was following, a grimace on his lips. "Don't fall behind, I won't come find you if you do." With that he turned his full attention to the emerging mountains, following the retreating tail of his bonded.

[Welcome to the Aurora Basin! <3 I'll post a thread in the herdland for her asap]