Sonorae watched as Rougaru passed her nondescript spot in the jungle without making a sound. She saw the way he curled hungrily around the slender mare, and the way they moved together as one. She watched, but she did not grow jealous. Seeing Rougaru happy soothed her, and while a part of her would always yearn to know what it might feel like to be wanted with that level of passion, she knew it was not a part of her destiny.

Even if she wasn't the meek and shrinking creature that she was, Sonorae was no great beauty. Grey had stolen all but the faintest color from the majority of her body, leaving only small flecks and the unsightly patch on her forehand, face, and neck as remainder. Gawky where Vanya was elegant, and shy beneath the waterfall of her mane. Even on the best of days, Rae held only a fraction of the Drappa's confidence and poise.

But she was happy.

She was happy with this small piece of literal Paradise. A place where the land was beautiful and the weather (mostly) nice. She could steal moments of Rougaru's time when he was not busy, and had Roux for companionship for the rest of the time. It was a nice, quiet life, and she wasn't complaining. She didn't know if her old memories would ever come back (or if the bad ones from the Crossing would ever truly go away), but she didn't mind too much. The memories she was making of her new life were slowly but surely filling in the gaps.

Rae watched as the slender ballerina mare danced away, and debated leaving Rougaru to his thoughts. He clearly had something on his mind today, and she knew that with the current politics he was under a lot of stress. But she missed him, and she so rarely found him alone.

Swallowing her nerves, Rae stepped from her place across the clearing and made a straight path to where he stood with a gentle little nicker to announce her arrival. She wouldn't take much of his time, but she wanted to assure herself that he was okay. He was so worried all of the time, and he deserved to be reminded that he had a whole herd of support behind him.

As she approached, she tucked the nerves even further down and stretched to press her muzzle against his shoulder in a featherlight touch. Compared to the other fierce and wild mares that called their jungle home, Rae was little more than a fragile bird, and she had lost herself in comparisons more days than naught. She admired the strength of her herdmates, but every time she tried to muster the levels of courage that she imagined such free-living would require, she found herself falling short each time. She might never be the sort of fierce, wild creature that Rougaru seemed to love, but she would take the gentle affection he fed her all the same.

"Hello," Rae murmured softly as she tucked herself along his side. She still felt as though she should apologize for taking any of his time, but she stifled that comment and inquired as to his well being instead. She, who likely spent more time than most observing their King, imagined that she could see the subtle lines of stress on his face and body that had not been there before. "How are you?"