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Being less used to walking in general and the terrain in particular, Raphael had to work much harder when the path got steeper; he fell slightly behind Sparkles and became quiet, intent on managing the climb as much as possible without needing to resort to wings. It was a bit of a relief to have the excuse not to talk, but he was honestly pleased when Sparkles started talking herself.

He couldn't fault her for her restraint. Other Soquilis might have thought her lack of an explanation rude or teasing; Raphael felt it perfectly reasonable and was honestly shocked when she followed that up with a specific, if brief, explanation of the occurrence. Raphael was THRILLED to have the excuse not to talk at the time, as he had absolutely no response for such a revelation at the time and didn't for another few moments.

Attacked? Mauled, even? And that was interesting? What kind of place was this, where a visiting mare would get mauled by a stallion? And Sparkles was much hardier than Elizabeth, had Elizabeth ventured into this region unknowingly? He found himself feeling a great deal more anxious about her than he had previously; the fact that Sparkles was headed back that way was a slight consolation, but very.

After managing the climb with only the lightest touch of assistance from his wings, Raphael was able to contribute once again to the conversation, hoping he wasn't being too pert. "Well, I am glad to see that you came out of the situation, Sparkles, for your friend and her brothers' sake as well as your own. I hope that it was nothing more than a misunderstanding and isn't a common occurrence up here."

Exactly what circumstances would make it common, he couldn't say; perhaps an initiation? Or a penalty for trespass into a certain area. "You seem a very courageous and forgiving mare, to be going back after such an incident. I have to confess, I am amazed."

Raphael hadn't caught the sigh, but it was hard to miss a focused stare. He wasn't really sure what he'd done to merit the stare, but it was certainly unsettling. The following explanation was helpful, but he still couldn't figure out why he'd first gotten stared at. After all, just because there was a circumstantial justification to a violent action didn't mean that the action was excused.

It was good that she hadn't been severely hurt, good that they could all laugh at it now, good that there had been no permanently scarred feelings, but still amazing to Raphael that any of them could regard it with such a disinterested, philosophical outlook.

There certainly were a great deal of differences between the deep forest and everywhere else.

"Well, I am glad to hear that it worked out in the end, and that things are now much more peaceful. If Elizabeth actually is up here, I am sure that peace is much more to her liking. Assuming that she is here, of course. I must confess, I have no idea where she actually is, and we are all equally mystified back home. But hopefully she is enjoying herself, if she is. Perhaps she has even run into your friend, and they are having lunch together!"

That seemed to make as much sense as anything. The idea of climbing a mountain to visit a friend because you'd forgotten your lunch was such an extraordinary one that he found himself staring, only to laugh as he reflected on what that meant. "It was very kind of her to provide you with that lunch, though I'm sure the pleasure of the company of a friend was more than worth the provision."

It was true that Raphael didn't understand Sparkles' motives, and doubtful that he even could. While not a violent Soquili and naturally predisposed towards forgiveness, there was a strong sense of caution in him that would have served a barrier to eager returns, had he been in her place. The spirits would hardly have aided him...but oddly enough, they wouldn't have been a shock to him. It was a little known fact to the greater world, but his mother had been haunted by spirits herself, though in her case their intents had been sinister and nearly drove Hienna to despair.

All told, he would rather have Sparkles' form of spirits. Scratch that, he would rather his MOTHER have Sparkles' form of spirits. Perhaps if she would have had them, she would have had a less traumatic youth...though had things been different, then it was very probable he wouldn't exist. No, it was for the best that things happened as they were. Perhaps that was some of the logic behind Sparkles' attitude, that even the most horrid of things happened for a reason-

"Yes, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Swann. She's very close to my family, actually, and is my godmother." Which was true; Elizabeth had been close friends with his father since the former had come to the Kawani lands, and she had been there for Zaphiro and Hienna in their period of deepest hardship. Raphael regarded Elizabeth as a second mother, a close aunt; after all, she had helped birth him! "I am confident that she is fine, it's just this is somewhat unusual, so we want to make sure she's alright."

That was the short version, anyway; anything more than that was bound to get complicated.

"Married?" This conversation seemed to be one surprise after another, and Raphael still hadn't gotten used to them. It was a bit funny, in one sense, because he had been surprised enough times already that nothing Sparkles said should be causing any visible surprise. After all, the mare was voluntarily visiting a place that she'd been attacked! Badly attacked, even.

But he hadn't expected Sparkles to actually be aware of Elizabeth in any fashion, and he definitely hadn't expected THAT.

He was aware of what the term 'marriage' meant, though it wasn't the common term in their parts. 'Joining' was the normal term, or occasionally 'lifemating', but 'marriage' was the same thing. He was pretty sure, anyway.

But the context and his unfamiliarity made him cautious, and as he climbed up the hillside, he clarified cautiously, "Married...as in lifemated?" It was a bit silly, he knew, but as Elizabeth had never mentioned anything remotely along the lines of lifemating to anyone, his caution, as far as he could tell, was justified.

While it was a relief to know that he was thinking of the right thing (the fewer colloquialisms he had to learn the better, after all), finding out that they were talking about the same thing did little to ease Raphael's surprise and confusion at what Sparkles was saying. Before, he had been doing his best to refrain from emoting or showing any surprise at what Sparkles was doing; Zaris' behavior had merited understanding and acceptance for Sparkles. But this news was so unexpected, so completely unforeseen, that Raphael was nothing so much as a gaping youth.

Well, a metaphorically gaping youth; he had enough control of his motor skills that his mouth was properly closed. Mostly.

It wasn't until Sparkles mentioned the possibility that it might be another Elizabeth that Raphael was able to properly voice a thought again, the thought of Elizabeth being lifemated to a stranger up in the mountains taking a bit of time to even consider. But once the possibility was mentioned, things became easier; after all, Elizabeth wasn't THAT uncommon a name; on top of that, there were very few that called Elizabeth Lizzy. In fact, he only knew of he, his sister, and his brother calling her Lizzy, and that had started when they were young and bad at enunciation. If the Soquili Sparkles had spoken to called the mare in question Lizzy, then it was very likely it was a different mare. Easy enough!

"Well, I can't really say. I mean, it's possible that it's a different mare even if you haven't heard of any others; I don't know that Elizabeth is in this region at all, so..." It was probable that it was a different Elizabeth. Highly probably, even. But still... "If it's not an imposition, I would like to take a look all the same. It's probably not her, but I really should check every possibility."

Mental multitasking was something Raphael had little experience with, as anyone privy to his current thoughts would easily be able to see. His concern regarding Zaris' bad impression and making amends had been metaphorically shoved off to the side when he received the intelligence of possible Elizabeth sightings; while he was still behaving the same as he had, his overly solicitous edge had vanished. Whether that was good or bad had to be judged by others, because he hadn't even noticed.

Mulling over the situation and the possible outcomes, he followed after Sparkles without really paying attention to where they were going and how they were getting there. More pressing matters were whether or not it was his Elizabeth, what he should do if it WAS her, what he should if it WASN'T her (because if that was the case, then he would have intruded upon a pair of newly mated strangers...), whether he should try and find some sort of gift regardless; it was a very atypical situation, and he wanted to handle it in the proper way. Whatever that proper way was.

Sparkles was right in her assumption that he wasn't hungry. Point of fact, he had just finished up eating when she had first appeared, and he was good to go for a long time. But preoccupation aside, he was still a gentleman and he would respect Sparkles' need for food.

Not that he knew she was hungry yet, though he had observed that they had left the path. Perhaps this was the most direct route to her destination, or a more comfortable climb. Either way, she was the one helping him, and he would do his best to accommodate HER while she accommodated HIM. She was making good sense, too. "I most certainly agree. There is also the possibility that even if this isn't the Elizabeth I am looking for that she might have encountered her, if she is a stranger to these parts as well."

That was a cheerful thought!

His expression still a bit mullish, Raphael didn't so much walk after Sparkles as drift after her. Oh, he saw her; he was making a point of staying with her, but when presented with a conundrum of such a delicate nature, he had to take time to think about it. Though he would never be so ungracious or boorish as to even THINK that his upbringing had been lacking, the closeness of home and the relative lack of exposure to other Soquili cultures was not as beneficial as his adult self would like. This morning had been one dramatic example of that, one that he would likely never be able to consider without wincing, and this was only the first Soquili they'd met up here! It was far too easy, when surrounded by familiar things, to take them for granted and accept them as the universal rule when they might actually be a minority; possibly even a very unusual minority.

All together, this meant one thing for Raphael: He was a fish out of water, and good as his intentions were, he would have to be mindful of how he presented those intentions.

As Sparkles came to a halt and began to paw away at the snow, Raph drifted to a halt beneath one of the firs and leaned up against it. It was a scratchy tree; the bark was rough against his flank, and he automatically rubbed his shoulder up for a scratch as he considered the best course of action. Accepting Sparkles' words as the truth, he would need to stay on foot and not just fly into what was certainly well-guarded territory. In a paradoxical way, it reminded him of home: the equivalent of not intruding unless invited or introduced. The difference was that here, he ran the risk of being maimed without that introduction.

Yes, that was just a trifle atypical for him...