Eleanora did not make a habit of following Lilith to Draco when she needed to stabilize. It was always safer if she went alone and Master Vargas's warning ever echoed in her ears. Of course, she barely breathed when Lilith was gone, holding onto their bond like a lifeline, waiting for a shift, a change, dreading it would go dark again when she was not there with her. She knew she didn't have to worry about Lilith, of course. She was strong, so much stronger then her, so it wasn't a matter of Ellie protecting her. But she did not think she would be able to handle losing their bond again, especially if she was not there to be lost with her.

But it was also a matter of privacy.

Lilith was so...different. Not just in her appearance, but the anger she displayed was so much deeper then it had been on the surface. She had always been a much colder and darker person then her wife, but she had never displayed the kind simmering rage and hatred she showed now. At least, not that she could remember.

She knew it was whatever that black crystal spire had done to her. And she knew Lilith hated it. But it was an inescapable facet of her love now, something she would have to learn to love, and perhaps help Lilith love it too. Or learn to live with it. She wasn't sure. Which was why she had deemed to come with her this time. She wanted to understand.

It had been a little unnerving, to see Lilith meditating before the Black Spire that caused Ellie herself physical discomfort to even be in the presence of. She stayed a distance away and waited, out of the range of its radiation, for Lilith to be done. And when she was, she quietly smiled, threaded their fingers together, and accompanied her back.

The walk through the tunnel was quiet, tense, and it was only broken as they strolled without haste through the fields of Pegasus, the bubbling of the river a soft noise in the background and the gentle winds a comforting embrace. Eleanora took a breath and asked, "What is it like?" She glanced at Lilith, wondering if she understood and was willing to answer. It wasn't something they had talked about in the months living in the caves together, but she wasn't willing to shy away from it anymore.