It was only willpower that kept the dark mare moving, the leaden weight of her limbs seeming to increase a fraction with each step that she took. The scope of her world had narrowed over the course of hours that to Iris were an indistinct, immeasurable blur of time. She no longer saw further than the next stride would take her, no longer heard or smelled her surroundings - except perhaps on an instinctive level. When the black figure came up beside her, she offered no reaction at first save to sidestep once, opening enough distance between their bodies to ensure that their moving limbs would not entangle. And no immediate response was given to the stranger’s inquiries, though her ears did twist in the direction they had come from. A full minute followed Adelheid’s final silence before the blanketed woman abruptly stopped, as if the words had taken that long to penetrate the thick fog of her grief.

For an instant her long white limbs trembled, and Iris thought that she might collapse. But with the help of her own willpower - and by locking her knees - she remained upright, twisting her neck around to look over her shoulder at the Vulcan mare. A shudder traveled the full length of her spine, but Gnome’s daughter did not appear to notice this. She noticed, instead, the way those eyes regarded her - with a mixture of something like pity and concern. This confounded Iris, who despite her wretched state did not consider herself to be in any distress. It was Eve who needed help, but she’d lost the trail long ago. No, the seal brown creature suddenly recalled, she’d left it willingly, hoping to find an easier path. Perhaps the inky female could help her find the way?

She was well beyond the reach of hope, but Iris did feel a flicker of something in its stead. “My sister,” the spotted mare said, surprised at the rasp of her own voice. “She was taken north, along the shore. But I couldn’t follow. I need to find her.” How long had it been since her last drink of water? Iris couldn’t remember, but each syllable was like a shard of glass dragging along her throat. An attempt was made to turn herself around, to speak to her companion face-to-face in the wall-mannered way that Lily and Gnome had taught her as a child. But somehow she stumbled in the process, her shoulder colliding with the other woman’s before she righted herself, though still leaning against the unyielding wall of the Codebreaker’s flesh for the support and small comfort that it offered.

In motion, she’d had not only purpose, but also strength. It was only now that Iris had stopped that the weight of everything she’d endured had begun to catch up with her, and began to prove more than she could bear. A tickling warmth at the corners of her dark eyes threatened tears, but with a vigorous shake she managed to banish them back into the blackness of her thoughts. No amount of sobbing would restore her sibling to her side. “I’m Iris,” The brown mare offered numbly. “And my sister is Eve. She looks a lot like me, but with dark legs and a bigger blanket. You must have seen her come through.” Her voice had taken on an edge that was almost pleading, hoping to be gifted the hope that she could not embrace alone.

Lapsing into silence again, Iris became aware of the other’s warmth slowly - as it penetrated the chill that had enfolded her at this higher altitude. Another shiver rippled through her, and she fought against the irrational urge to bury her face in the thick black mane that hung between them. As a filly, she’d often sought solace behind the dark curtain of Lilika’s mane. And as a young mare she had returned the favor more than once, attempting to shield the blue roan from the horrors she’d borne. It was too tempting to hide herself away again, and hope that she might escape the truth that she could no longer outrun. And after all that she had witnessed, Iris could not deny herself the sanctuary that this stranger offered, struggle though she might.

Leaning forward and pressing the flat of her forehead to Adelheid’s neck, the seal-brown mare surrendered to the storm of her emotions, and was briefly swept away.