“You get used to it fairly quickly…” How far from the truth... Sia nodded lightly as she concentrated her will on relaxing. A subtle twitch beckoned her mouth to sharpen into a grimace; had she not thought of dictating her body language perhaps the whole process would have been a lot easier. Though as it was then, now, preventing those raw and true emotions from revealing themselves heightened the anxiety. Such that it always came in waves, constant and rhythmic with even the slightest mention of a dreaded aspect, a word, a phrase that could trigger a tsunami.

She had never anticipated this brokenness, unable to reflect how beaten and worn down she had truly become. “…That was awful.” Sia mimicked Frost’s smile, forcing the grimace to dissolve and shrivel in the present, nodding again because she would force herself to believe it. She’d get used to it… wouldn’t she?

But behind the mask of flesh, a sense of nausea crept behind her throat. The land of Unicorns; the gasp that had left her lips as she raised her head rolled off her tongue like a light and feathered laugh. She felt herself grinning as her heart notched once more, buzzed from the thought that she might be playing for wolves.

She shook her head lightly, as to flick off snowflakes, grounding herself on Frost’s words. It had brought some comfort to realize the youth beside her had forgotten about the song. And with that satisfaction a shiver brushed across her skin.

With effort she began listening to the fae. And as she continued to speak there was a sense of sadness that seemed to carry over. From the frown etched against Frost’s dark face, from the careless sigh stretching across the mere void between them. When Sia had thought that she was all but alone in this foreign territory… at least having some sense of what a child should experience, the play that led to other worlds, innocence with its illusionary and fickle dance. Butterflies.

And perhaps the Basin truly reflected itself by its territory. Frozen and edgy; caged by mountains, as one had described… As she stood there for a moment in thought, she picked up her auburn gaze, glancing across the regal features of a proud unicorn youth. “I bet we could change that.” A tentative, genuine smile alighted her features, tilting her head to encourage the thought.

“Why should we let the winter rule our hearts? Cold and devoid of this fun?” There it was; a little bit of faith cooed along her vocals. Growing in strength as she fought against the darkness. “How about the caves?” My, how eager she was to go wandering into darker places!

“At least, with the two of us, we’ll look after each other’s backs. There might be… monsters, after all.”