It had been centuries since he had voiced those syllables and yet his memories of his childhood friend were as crisp as the day Alexander had met him. It was both a blessing and a curse. Although such perfect recall allowed him to relive those blissful moments over and over again, so too did it make it impossible for the ancient King to ever truly move on. Time simply did not heal all wounds for Alexander. Nevertheless, the curiosity that raged within Alexis was all but palpable as she leaned forward to better hear. Softly, the Dark Hunter recounted that very story of how they had met, albeit it vague and lacking the true details he could so easily recollect. Alexis, however, remained nothing if not still and utterly silent throughout that very tale, only further allowing those very memories to tug so potently at the Macedonian. The bright blue-green of his irises turned from her, the man simply surveying the lake that stretched out beside them and yet, his thoughts were anywhere but at the present. How it pained him to know what he now knew of Hephaestion's fate. The man's death could have been avoided if Alexander had only stayed. If he had simply insisted his companion listen to the doctors of their time...things could have been so very different. A soft breath left his lips as Alexander struggled to push those memories from the forefront of his mind - those thoughts not ones he wished to linger within the presence of neither his girlfriend nor the dinner guests at large.

Alexander's attention returned towards the young woman across from him as he informed her of that which she surely already knew - Hephaestion had died, far before he should have. The Dark Hunter watched as Alexis' gaze turned down towards the dinner table, only to insist how pointless she found those words that had become culturally expected of her to voice. 'I'm sorry' - as if they could truly ever be reassuring in any manner. A small, almost sad simper fluttered across the man's features as he listened to his girlfriend insist that she wished there was something they could do to bring the now-deceased man back. "Thank you, Alexis. I appreciate that." He offered softly as her eyes turned upwards towards him - filled to the depth of her own sincerity. Even so, he was hardly inclined to let the topic linger further, the King desiring a distraction from those thoughts as he so purposefully deviated the conversation back to Alexis. The tale she wove of his own Steed, however, hardly served to make things better as the pain and hurt of loss were replaced with a fit of dark, flickering anger within the vengeful Hunter. Oh, the words that Frost and he would exchange tomorrow! For now, however, the matter was one he too tried to dismiss, at least for Alexis' sake. This date, after all, was not about Frost.

Those desserts, admittedly, came at the perfect moment, silencing any further conversation on such dismal topics as the pair nibbled upon those delectable treats. It was almost astounding to him, the extent of how Alexis had been sheltered throughout her life. It was a crime to be devoid of those delectable desserts! That ignorance was one Alexander was more than content to decimate as he assured her there was a Bakery in the east that they might visit for further exploration of her pallette. Tonight, however, the pair had made other plans - that date one set to be rounded off only with a horse ride. The Dark Hunter was hardly oblivious of the anxiety that seemed to flood her fair features at the very mention of it before she slowly nodded in agreement. "Alexis, you don't have to get on the back of one tonight, if you don't want to. Why don't we just go meet the horses and you can see what you feel like." He assured her, offering her an almost reassuring simper. It was only with the bill for dinner paid and dessert eaten that the Dark Hunter rose from the table. "I found a stable nearby that would let us use their horses. It's not a long walk, just on the other side of the lake." He nodded briefly across the lake and towards the wooden barn on the other side.