He might not miss her, but his body will. She feels his frustration, his aggravation, and it pleases her. He is exactly where she wants him to be, on the verge of walking away but staying because his most primitive instincts will not let him take his eyes off of her. He does find a name for her, foreign sounding in her ears, but judging by his growling it is not a flattering one. Whatever it does mean, Keahi is sure she has heard worse, so she merely curls her lips in another of her sly smiles. “Skækja. It doesn’t mean ‘fair maiden’, does it?” she speaks in her finely accented tones, stepping gracefully around a stump. His voice is growling still, sharp words lashing at her ears with venom, but she merely smiles and shrugs her shoulder at his aggression. Another cheeky provocation, not letting his anger get to her, as he hopes it will. If he wants to join her little game, he better be prepared, for he is up against one of the best. Years of experience are hid under that sultry mask of hers, a story that may never be unveiled.

He tells her that he has figured her out, and she laughs softly, almost girlishly. Keahi wants her answers, and she will snake her way to them with all her wits. Just as she thinks he will have to be presented with the same questions one more time, he decides to answer them anyway, much to her unconcealed pleasure. It worked, didn’t it Mauja? Like a hungry cat, she watches him under heavy, black lashes and swallows every last word that spills over those lips. The mention of the Sun God almost breaches her visage into a smile, but she carefully holds her face the same, realizing it may be inappropriate to smile when someone tells you their home burned down. “It pains me to hear, I hope no one was hurt,” she says, false concern in her voice perfectly disguised by her deceitful ways. She has turned her eyes away from him, so he may not see the lack of sympathy within them; of course, she didn’t deliberately wish anyone pain, but she figured the Sun God would have his reasons to punish them.

There is a change in him suddenly, and it does not escape her attention. He presses his shoulder against her boney hip; Keahi can almost feel the blood flowing through him, hot and uneasy in character. She rubs back against him, not at all fazed by his behavior. Little does he know, she prefers the rough treatment to sweet-talking, and she knows that when he is playing along, she will have to tread even more carefully. He rejects her idea that he has a mate, and she is slightly surprised; his unwilling act moments before had her thinking he must have a missus at home. But his conscience is clean in that department, obviously. Normally, knowing something like that would’ve taken some of the fun out of the hunt, but he has intrigued her, and she is not yet ready to let go of such a juicy bone. “That makes two of us,” she says plainly, not giving away any more information than he had. It was hardly a surprise; wanderers such as herself rarely had a mate tagging along.

They come across a small stream, and she halts by its bank to quench her thirst. Her back is turned to the white stallion, she is not threatened by him, and she dips her soft maw into the lukewarm water. Even here, under the shade of the trees, the sun has got the upper hand. She drinks in quiet, for a moment she looks like she has forgotten that he is even there, but make no mistake. As she raises her skull, she looks to Mauja again, silvery droplets of water dripping from her black kissers. “But surely, the World’s Edge is not the single kingdom within Helovia,” she says, moving closer to him, her muzzle brushing against his nape, wiping away a bit of grime to reveal the ivory underneath. “I will want to know more, before deciding if Helovia is a desirable home. So, ask your questions, Mauja. I will answer yours if you do mine,” she sings in a playful voice, snapping out at his withers and swinging nimbly out of his reach. We will see if the answers he has been promised are truthful on not.