The mare did not know what brought her to this area of the Edge this strange evening, only that she could not ignore the urge to simply be here, to wait, to linger, to see what unfolded. The tragedies that had occurred, and the darkness that had followed, could be taken in many ways - was it an omen? A superstition come true? The depression of it all still threatened her wellbeing, though it was getting easier to continue on with life - to focus on living instead of on all that one had lost. Was that not how she had always lived her life? How had she continued on when her parents were lost to her at the youthful age of yearlinghood? It was so long ago, she sometimes frightened herself with the thought that she had forgotten what they looked like, what they sounded like, what their gentle, caring caresses felt like. And it was true, she had forgotten, largely, all of these things - but she held onto the morals and values they had ingrained upon her, the ways in which to live and survive in this everchanging world of theirs.

Movement was spied; the mare was in luck, or perhaps her intuition was simply acute this evening. The scent of youthful stallion and mare passing nearby alerted her second to the sounds of their passage, and swiftly the mare followed, listening to the tantrum, pausing her steps and lingering amidst the shadows to hear the condolences, the advice, the gentle admonishment. Akaith was nowhere to be seen, swallowed by the darkness this evening - possibly chasing the curious star-like fireflies like Kaiden - and so as Mirage emerged, it was only her golden eyes, and the golden tattoo upon her nape, that were reminiscent of the hues of her draconic form, and her bonded. They created a sharp, startling contrast in the low light, where the sheer blackness of her pelt seemed to hoarde shadows around it, what little light did reflect off her seemed to glow from her very soul within. Perhaps it was doing just that. Perhaps it was just simply a trick of the strange, starlike orbs that danced around them.

"Your friend speaks wise words." The DragonHeart spoke kindly, warmly addressing the couple, whom she suspected barely even knew that they were a couple yet. "It is all right to be angry. Upset. Sad." It was advice she rarely took herself, for she was one to see emotions as weakness, and so ordinarily she showed very few - but tonight she would show many. Tonight, that stony façade had been left behind, if only to aid in the healing of a hard working , beloved friend and comrade, a contributing member to her herd, a life source to his sisters and close friends, a remnant of a bloodline now paused until he passed it on again. The mare reached out with her maw to bump against his, and Kimber's, a gentle nudge, a reassurance to back up her words. "It takes time, but life does go on. Think of your mother, cherish her memory, and the wisdom she gave you. Think of Torasin, and the lives he saved. Weep for their departure. But do not insult their memory by forgetting to use what they gave you."

To a keen observer, a watery sheen would be noticed around the mare's golden pools, a subtle filling of saline droplets forming along her eyelids as she spoke. "They gave you life, Aaron. Your mother birthed you, and Torasin rescued me from oblivion when mortal wounds threatened my body a handful of months ago." She explained, revealing a fact that had been kept hidden from most of the herd. "It would be a waste of their gifts to focus too long on that which upsets us."

The mare observed quietly, the way in which the two interacted. Did they even realise the easy harmony they shared? The comradeship, the bond that united them through their shared histories and undoubtedly their shared futures? It brought hope to the mare's heart, that even with the deaths that picked away at their home, they would continue on, together, creating new life and passing the message on. Yes, Aaron's struggled to come to grips with his new life's circumstances, but he would work through it Mirage could see that, especially with Kimber nearby. The mare's golden pools shifted to view the young maiden with hidden curiosity, drinking in the frame of Smoke, the resilient and stubborn nature that seemed to survive despite all the odds against her. She saw Gunslinger in her too, the stubborn fool of a stallion whom Mirage herself had taking a liking to, at the time, in her younger days… How different life could have been had she forsaken her lonesome life as a wanderer and joined his herd.

A small smile curved her lips at Kimber's words, and the mare could only nod a single, simple nod in agreement. "Though they are gone, we are all still here, and though we may hurt, we will continue to survive, to thrive, to live and to provide for our young. You don't have to do this alone, Aaron - already I can see, even if you cannot, that you are not alone. We'll all work together to ensure our young have time to be just that - young." As she spoke, she intended to include all the young of the Edge - her daughters, Aaron's sisters, Desterier's offspring - all of them, who all seemed to possess a want to grow up so fast. "You are naturally strong, Aaron, stronger than you feel." I know because everyone always says the same thing about me. Here, the DragonHeart's voice faded as she quirked her gaze upwards, blinking back the tears that inevitably pooled about the rim of her eyelids at the thought of Torasin and Solstice's deaths. She did not return them to the gathered, slowly she detached herself from them - she wanted to let them continue on and heal without her.

We all had different ways of coping, and Mirage's was a mixture of offering her presence to those situations where she thought it might have a positive impact, and otherwise staying amongst her shadows. Though she had just reached out to these two, she could see that her presence wasn't really needed, though perhaps it had been useful. The shadowmare lingered, albeit somewhat distantly, pausing her legs that itched for movement, until the situation proved beyond a doubt that she was no longer needed here.