How he felt for the october lass was still a mystery, but Kaj had severed the connection between his mind and heart years ago when his baby sister had died. It had been too many seasons since he'd last known love as anything deeper than kinship. But there was a tremor, a dull chord of a broken instrument that thrummed through him whenever Evangeline would look up at him with those intensely beautiful emerald eyes, a memory of a song he had forgotten the lyrics to resurfacing every time she came around. Walking beside her, old habits began to emerge as he slowed his gait for her, gazing down upon her little frame and seeing in her the ghost of the love he'd held for Aniela. There was the desire to protect her, to cradle her betwixt his wings and breathe his love into her soul, until the chill of her sorrows was washed away. Until she was illuminated with the happiness he could see hidden inside, as beautiful as she undoubtedly could be with a sincere state of joy occupying her.

A soft murmur of truth escapes her lips, and he chides himself for staring. Even still, his heart feels oddly...pained? No, it is not pain he feels, but something archaic and familiar all at once. Stepping closer, he allows the thick feathering of his wing to descend upon her slighter frame. She feels so frail in his hold, but Kaj knows she is laced with titanium, and refuses to underestimate her. Instead, he confusedly enjoys the feel of her small frame against his own, tucking the ends of his wing towards her flank to shield her from the chill. Whatever words he could have conjured withered on his tongue, unsure what to ask. Was she comfortable? But he did not want to pressure her, though a majority of him was also wondering how it could be considered pressuring. Yet something old and dusty whispered that this was a moment of change, and he had to tread lightly.

Fumbling tongue and hesitant lips conjure up the word, and he fondly regards her. His language is sweet and naive on her tongue, a rosebud where it was supposed to be a gurgling creek. Far too sugared for his language, but to hear it had an undoubtedly profound effect on him. Perhaps the same even as she, when he was the one to speak it. A chuckle vibrates in his chest, deep and amused like a summer thunder storm. "At least he hails me with a name that does not glorify my rear end," he chuckled, pale azures glittering with amusement. Though he was embarrassed to admit that speaking of their own relationship was something he enjoyed more than anything concerning Tallis. He was overwhelmingly curious about the damsel and what composed her.

"We make each other better," he stated softly, as if it were irrefutable fact. With a man like Kaj, it was likely the truth. Should someone approach and tell him otherwise in that moment, it would undoubtedly lead to Kaj crushing their viewpoints. He simply could not be convinced otherwise. It was almost exhilarating, to have such an equal match. Others would be confused by this, seeing as Kaj effectively dwarfed the mare at his side, but he loved her for her mind more than her battle prowess.

Loved.

Oh by the Gods. Surely he felt only brotherly love for her? But he couldn't withhold a shuddering swallow of nerves to see her lilting smile, the gleam of her moss green gaze. He kicked and shoved it into the corner of his mind, refusing to address that just yet, especially after their conversation had started with the topic but concerning another mare. Even so her words breathed warmth into his heart, and he leaned down to press his lips to the soft space below her closest ear in a kiss of gratitude. "To hear that from you...it is a compliment equal to that of the Gods, mijn leliemeisje. I hope I will do well enough to uphold that thought for seasons to come." It was murmured into her ear, intimate and bared to the bones of his soul. Letting her see what a profound effect and influence she had on him, how deeply her compliments stirred him.

A quirk of a brow at the mention of her friend was all he betrayed. "I would be honored to meet one you deign a friend," he smiled quirkily, that shy boyish smile he didn't often show. As long it is not one of those who hurt you, he growled internally. Her wistful thoughts spoken aloud brought him back from that road they'd just diverged from moments ago in conversation. "Were it in my ability to give you that chance, I would," the king assured; it was not often he deemed others worthy of that sort of freedom, of which he so selfishly loved and indulged in. But if anyone was to experience it and treat it with the respect a non-pegasi could normally not imagine, it would be Evangeline.

Tugging her subtly closer, he led them onto the deer trails, not wanting to share her with anybody else so soon. "Would you like to learn my language, leliemeisje? We could converse privately, inspire jealousy in our herdmates," he joked, a wink crossing his handsome face at the jest, even as the offer was more than serious. The thought of sharing something so private with her...it made his insides tremble.