Jökulrós was not aware of the colt’s eyes on her as she spoke of the bird but she would not have found him strange regardless of whether he looked at her or not. It was not unusual to look at those who were speaking, and had she been aware of what was considered “normal” manners when meeting someone for the first time, she might have expected stares for addressing him in such a familiar manner. She had never been concerned with formal introductions, however, and considered everybody new as friend she just hadn’t met yet.

A single ear twitched at the sound of the painted colt’s voice though she barely heard him above the whirr of her own thoughts. While her imagination might have been running wild, she did manage to grasp the most important part and a bright smile crept over her lips in response. She meant to make a comment on those words but, as was often the case, her train of thought led elsewhere. It was his settling on the word glorious that brought her back to reality and spawned the question of whether he too, would enjoy being a bird. He began to answer in the same instant that she noticed the mark on his neck and his words faltered, only to be replaced by her own.

His answer was short but loaded with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Keen not to cause him further hurt, she trailed her muzzle away from the bite to nuzzle his cheek, pressing her body closer to his to provide whatever comfort she could. Jökulrós had never learned about not invading someone’s personal space and would be even less inclined to pay it any heed now. Although she had world had never been truly shaken, she knew that closeness was the only thing that made her feel better when she had been feeling down. Her ears leaned forward in concern when he elaborated, and she wondered what it was that had caused him to hurt so much.

”Tell me what I can do to make it better” she soothed. While she was certain she could not fix it, if she could just ease the pain or make him forget about it for a time, then she would have succeeded in some small way. ”I could tell you a story, if you’d like.” she offered, ”Or sing a song, if that would help?” he had expressed interest earlier after all. ”Perhaps we could sing one together."