It was immediately evident that she'd intruded where she was not necessarily welcomed and Arael's soft face contorted into an apologetic grimace, her final step forward hovering in indecision as the tobiano warred with her own desire. If asked, the petite girl would leave the Queen to her own devices, not wanting to cause any bad blood to develop between them. Queen Medusa may not have been touched by the pale hand of lady Etheria in the same way that she and Ironclad were, but the white that spiraled across her body spoke volumes of the good that existed in her heart.

"It's okay," she hastens to assure the painted mare at her opening statement, her hovering hoof finally landing on the ground. "I am small and easy to miss among the heather, I imagine." Granted, they were practically the same height, but Medusa's personality and presence made her hard to miss no matter where she was.

Arael's petite ears flick forward to catch her explanation, and she too, turns outward to look at the herd at large. A thoughtful silence interjects itself between them as Arael considers her words. She had felt insecure frequently, even with Etheria's grace to guard her. How much harder life must be without her goddess's teachings to guide the way.

Finally, she turns back to Medusa. "I don't believe it is your fault, my Queen. Autumn always brings tension to a herd." Her mind cast backward to the day that Ironclad had returned to invite her to the Inlet in earnest, and how flattered she had been. At the time, she had still been paralyzed by her failings with Velahrn, and had possessed no desire to immediately repeat her mistake, even if Ironclad seemed hand-picked by her goddess. Her fear had been the reason she had been so tardy in joining the herd, and why she had arrived in a far different season than she had been invited.

"It is not my place to ask, but would you be willing to share what has made you feel insecure?" The obvious answer was their leader's affections, but Arael was not sure if the young Queen had romantic inclinations toward him or not. She had found it strange that no child existed to bind them together, but she knew that some unions were simply not blessed with children and had not wanted to pry, in case they had tried but lost in the past.

Arael did not know of the romantic tension that had existed between Xiomara and Ironclad, nor of the way that their flirtation had gone back and forth for years without ever reaching a conclusion. And while Arael held both leaders in high regard, the thought of them coupling was one that filled her with mild unease. Xiomara's fierce countenance and rough expression of affection seemed ill-fitted to Ironclad's (seemingly) mild manner and considerate approach. .