Though the words left unspoken still weigh heavily upon him, Conquistador's heart is given wings by Dia's sincere speech. The yearling who had arrived on Atlantis with nothing and no-one had never expected to find his place in Paradise. And however brief his stay might be destined to be, the palomino vows that he will never forget the family he has gained in his time here. Perhaps he could even return someday, as the mare he leans into had said. It would not need to be a permanent parting such as the one that had delivered him here under Xina's care, and at Dia's side. Not all goodbyes were forever, after all.

"I understand, Dia." He replies, pulling away from the mare to meet her eyes with his own solemn brown ones. And he thinks he does. Conquistador has already learned that holding another being close to his heart comes at a cost; there cannot be love without pain to balance it. In a similar way, keeping a secret close to his heart, and sharing it with no one, places the full burden of the sorrow on him and spares others the anguish of knowing. It was a trade that Conquistador would make a thousand times over for even a fleeting moment of Dia's friendship.

"I'll always listen, too." The colt adds with a little smile that cannot entirely counter the mournful weight beneath his words. "I love you, Dia." Conquistador finished simply, touching noses with the palomino mare in a gesture of farewell before he departs from her side. Struggling through the waves, the colt heads for the shore to seek out Xina. But as he gains the beach, Conquistador glances back over his shoulder - as if to reassure himself that his friend would still be there. That she would always be there, as she has promised.

And then, with obvious reluctance, he retreats into the darkness of the jungle.