He spoke like her situation was so simple. And in a way, it was. She'd been claimed in the Common, came here to meet only O Melhor's son, and promptly never saw anyone else again until Rade's timely arrival. As far as the actual sequence of events was concerned, it was quite uncomplicated, rather straightforward. Her feelings on it were another matter entirely.

Since she'd gotten here, it was like living with a herd of ghosts. She thought she'd heard them, smelled them, caught hoofprints in the sand or snags of mane and tail on the trees, but she never actually saw anyone else, and soon even those small indicators disappeared. Irina hadn't expected much interaction, and didn't truly miss it, but she was growing lonely, and in the massive jungle she sometimes felt vulnerable alone. She was no stranger to her own company, but sometimes the softly-dappled mare wanted variety.

Her ears twitched back briefly at his tone, and she lowered her eyes again, suddenly embarrassed. Was he making fun of her? Was she some sort of failure for failing to keep the attention of the group? Her wet tail swung against her thin legs, and she exhaled softly. "I guess so," she finally mumbled, then looked out at the entrance of the cavern, towards the swift-flowing river. "It's like everyone just... disappeared."

Who was she kidding? Look who she was talking to. Irina grimaced at herself, shifting her weight. Of course, he probably already knew that. Stallions here swooped in on abandoned territories quite quickly. It had been only a matter of time before somebody new came along.

Nobody expected the dark little shadow that came along with it, though.

He seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. Instead of asking the question burning on her tongue, Irina glanced out at the storm once again, letting the silence stretch between them. He didn't seem altogether pleased to be around her, and she kept to herself as much as she could in the cramped hideaway, shifting to give him as much space as possible. If Rade wished to talk more, he would. Until then, she'd stand there and look at the rising river and hope that sometime, someday, her coat would dry out.