For weeks following their exchange Sonorae had kept herself to the shadows of Paradise and well out of Temblor's way. For all of the sincerity in her promise to stay with him, she still found him intimidating, especially as summer gave way to autumn. She spent the majority of the season slinking away from the slightest hint of another creature without bothering to check if it was even equine, let alone if it were Temblor.

To her surprise, he had let her be alone for that time, and as autumn gave way to winter, Sonorae began to slowly relax. Some part of her had even started to accept that perhaps Rougaru wasn't the only stallion worth trusting, although she'd not yet had the courage to vocalize such a thing aloud.

As she came out of hiding, it became harder to ignore the scent of another mare, and then even more difficult to avoid the inquisitive tobiano. Eventually, she had found Rae, and they had shared an awkward afternoon getting to know one another. The little mare - Shiloh - was no Monster, but she was curiously compassionate and expressed a desire for Rae to grow more comfortable in her old home, and even went so far as to offer an open invitation for company should Rae ever want it. She hadn't yet taken her up on the offer, but in the absence of other friendly faces, the idea was persuasive now that all of her family had gone.

Even harder to ignore, however, was the inescapable feeling that she needed to apologize to Temblor for her reticence. He had proven himself to be a better man than she had dared hope, and in exchange she had broken her word to show him around. She didn't know if she was ready to trust him wholeheartedly, but she felt that he deserved at least an olive branch of apology.

"Temblor?" She called out quietly to the murky shape of his body in the late evening fog. Even obscured as he was, it was impossible to mistake him for any of the other jungle residents and so she crept closer with her heart anxiously hammering in her chest. He almost appeared magical as she got closer, with the fog growing more and more translucent as she got closer, as though it were coming from him and not the jungle itself.

Sonorae had intended to lead with her apology, but the words failed her as she stopped and she hastily diverted to a different course instead. "H-how are you?"