She doesn't really know what she's looking for when she heads out - the meadow contained more horses than when the plague first struck, sure; company she will not lack even in the relatively isolated Silver Cove, because others have found their way into the Sanctuary. Maybe she just needs an unfamiliar face? No - she needs a break from helpless looks, she thinks then. She loves to guide home whoever she finds that may be in need of protection, but some days, that's just not what you need for yourself.

West, then, she flies.

She briefly considers Nerine, to check up on Sabra, Castile an Miela. But while she nears the land, the orange glow on the left is something that catches her eye - curiosity - and she changes direction. Just a little further. Yes, perhaps she just needed to check up on a friend; the only one she could think of right now who might not be in need of help, but might simply appreciate company.

She lands just near the border, eyeing the ash-filled land. Some patches are cleaner than others, she notes now. Perhaps the wind blows more freely there. Perhaps the wind is more steady here and blows the most of the volcano's clouds to sea.

She wonders if any of the islands off-coast ever have troubles, or if the Taiga does.

The white mare folds her light-made wings back, sniffs the air. It's harder for her to catch scents here, and most of them are mingled with the sulfur anyway.

A soft snort and a bit of a frown. She can't really distinguish if he's even here - perhaps she should have searched the Field, first.

It's almost ironic, the way the west is the hottest place in Beqanna, and not the south like one might expect (considering the north is coldest). Perhaps it's simply the volcano providing an unexpected source for heat; whatever the case, however much the white mare would set hoof here - she's quite sure she belongs elsewhere.

It doesn't mean that she could not visit, however. Especially on a day where she finds herself just a little... purposeless. Both the queens have settled the East quite quickly, and though Ilma is still the ambassador of the kingdom, there's also Kensa, Litotes and Yidhra, and she doesn't feel like she has done enough to keep earning her title currently. That little bit of self-doubt had eventually fuelled her wings today, and she'd ended up here, without really having a plan in her mind of what she's supposed to do.

Magnus however, spies her rather quickly. Either due to her white coat and lit-up wings or perhaps just because he watches the border - today, it doesn't matter. Ilma notes the ashen way he talks, reminding her of comfortable days in the field, a place where one might say she does belong. She dips her head in greeting, then follows him in, having waited out of courtesy even though one might have assumed she would be welcomed. If anyone new lived here, they might have found it rather impolite of her if she just walked in, after all.

"Too long, I'd think, but surely you'll have seen others from the Cove pass by." She smiles, he would know the east would not forget their allies out west, she thinks. Walking up to him, she answers his latest question more genuinely; not bothered by the fact that she didn't really come for anything at the moment. "Just visiting a friend," she gives him, specifically vague just because she feels like it. Ah, well - it's not everyday she finds herself with pleasant company.

There are, of course, good things to find in any land. The volcano in itself reminds the white mare of the Hyaline she left; a place with the best views, soaring on the wind to find the light reflected on the lake calling her home. This mountain, however, has a light of it’s own, and if it weren’t for the ashes constantly greying her white coat, if it weren’t for the small particles and sulfur biting into her lungs if she breaths too deeply, this would be a good home for her, too.

But the beach might be better, indeed.

”I’d love to,” the sunlight-winged mare agrees. She offers the buckskin male a smile. ”I could visit some more if you need more time away. Wearing a crown is exhausting sometimes, I believe.” she tells him- at least, she knows how Kagerus feels confined, she remember Solace telling her that should something happen, could she please take over - as if perhaps they’d thought of running away. Now, Ilma was secretly glad that they both had stayed, so she did not have to. But she was well aware of the mountain of duty one could feel under the weight of a crown, by now. It came from standing so close to friends who did.

Looking to steer the subject away from politics, her orange-amber eyes meet with her friend from the Field. ”What else don’t I know about Tephra yet? I know the volcano is it’s most known structure, but I’m afraid I know no other secrets about this place. I’m sure you do, though.” He had lived here long enough to know all the secret spots, Ilma thinks. Perhaps, if she hadn’t moved to the Cove so recently, she could have showed him a few more beautiful spots of her own home. But she hadn’t discovered all of them yet - and the secret spots of Hyaline were tainted with memories she would not like to share with another male friend just yet.

Magnus is very intriguing. He may not think he looks like much, but honestly she was never one to fall for magical attributes. His skin has a relatively unique tint, where she has met all kinds of horses, somehow there weren’t many buckskins between them. Besides – there’s something to his mischievousness, and she wouldn’t want to miss it for the world. She might even choose to forget about the rest of the world instead, and just stay where life was easy and joyful.

Of course, that is not a thought she currently would share with him. She knows she belongs out there, not here, but she could certainly pretend, for a day. So instead, when he agrees to show her something about Tephra, she lets him lead and therefore follows with a pleasant smile on her face – enjoying his company, but perhaps also the warmth that welcomes them, and which paints intricate darker patterns on the light brown skin, and doesn’t mind seeing him move about so easily on the rocks either -

Nevertheless, she’d better keep up, and when she can’t find her way between gaps that Magnus had somehow been able to jump, she cheats a little with the use of her wings, catching up the last bit easily with a quick glide and a gleam in her eye, right before he ducks into the vegetation. ”Rocks and steep slopes aren’t the problem for me.” she laughs, then follows the winding trail wherever it goes, wondering what’s so secretly stashed away out here.

The volcanic heat is perhaps more sulfuric than any jungle, but Ilma never experienced that difference. The path that the buckskin male now follows, makes her wonder about such a place - perhaps Kagerus might have mentioned one, from before the… Reckoning, that’s the word. Now that she’s dealing with a shift of lands caused by the rise of Pangea and the subsequent Plague, the Andalusian mare would wonder how often these lands might change. Perhaps in five more years or even if the faeries find a cure for the Plague, things could be different once more.

But although speculating about the future is tempting, she finds that she is drawn back to the here and now just as easily. Or perhaps it’s the man’s voice, or even just the way he looks at her. Whatever the case, she is happy to have him as a distraction, and she chuckles at his mentioning of wings on him. ”I doubt I could ever imagine you clumsy. Though, I must admit I think the ground suits you just as well.” Some horses just didn’t feel right, with wings, she thinks. Perhaps it was a more grounded, steady personality on them that made flight less suiting. But she was born with hers, albeit not these wings exactly, so his compliments don’t entirely hit their mark. Not that she doesn’t appreciate it, but she really thinks nothing much of flying. If anything, it feels like cheating, half of the time.

Then, they finally reach their destination. Following the stallion through the last of the jungle-like growth, she stops in her tracks there, just taking it all in. ”It’s beautiful. Look at all the colours!” Only then she releases a breath she didn’t know she had been holding, and carefully steps forward to examine the flowers, smelling them and admiring the different shapes of every plant.