[private] take a look in the mirror

[Tarian]

Tarian has come to know @[Altissima] well enough that he sees her unravel a bit. The question that he had countered on her had tugged as he hoped it would, loosening the tension between her shoulders and the almost stiff way she had stood. He's become familiar with her enough that he can recognize these things and as he watches the way the tension dispels from her, it is a far prettier sight than the sunset taking shape towards the west.

It almost makes the usually stoic stallion smile.

"Ah," he says instead, still stubbornly refusing to move. "Well, we both know that I'm no fun."

What she says next does make him smile, one that is only hampered by the weight of his damned leg. (Even if the admission that comes means that Altissima would only come to Loess again to prove him wrong, again.) One of his silver wings lifts and instinctively, Tarian goes to shift his weight to the opposite hip. Both the wing and his smile drop slightly, with the silver feathers being the more noticeable of the two. "I couldn't let you sneak in a second time," he murmurs, trying to ignore the pain that came from the slight movement. The spark in her color-changing eyes makes it easy for Tarian to push it away and something brightens in his own blue-eyed gaze.

"Delighted," he sardonically replies to the slender mare. "Nothing I enjoy more than making a show." And then he lifts head, peering over to the speckled creature. He's not shocked to hear her speak his name, but the force that she uses it feels odd to Tarian. The Loessian has heard it spoken many times - especially over the last few weeks as Loess continues to burst with life - but white woman manages to speak it in a way that sounds entirely her own.

Like everybody else has been saying it wrong.

He's reminded of their first meeting, another time in another clearing. Another dusk that he doesn't bother to consider why he recalls so vividly. Tarian is considering something else instead. "Do you do this often?" he asks her, genuinely curious as he remembers that the first time they had met had been at dawn. "Watch sunrises and sunsets?"