In the silence that came about after his apology, Kaj watched the orange damsel's face in hopes of finding some sort of answer. It came in time, and he nodded his appreciation for her acceptance of it. Whatever had been in apparent conflict in her mind had clearly been sorted, and it was not the King's business to pry or demand she tell him what had been bothering her about his apology for speaking out of turn, and vaguely.

A frown drew at his lips, for though her understanding was appreciated, he did not believe she was right in her advice to place more responsibility upon his Queen. It was frustrating to want to trust Evangeline, as he did so implicitly, and yet not want to risk the crumbling of the herd by forcing upon Kahlua more responsibility than she was capable of handling. Sighing softly to try and dispel his internal frustration, not wanting Evangeline to believe it was her he was frustrated with instead of the situation, he tried to communicate exactly that. "I understand what you're saying, Evangeline. I desire to take your advice, but I am blocked by my fear that the herd will crumble if she cannot handle it. I care more for the herd's safety than my patience and trust in her can stretch to accomodate." Feeling as if he were caught in circles, having no real choice, he grit his teeth and clenched his jaw and sighed heavily. "I despise feeling stuck like this. Perhaps in small increments I could introduce Kahlua to more responsibility?"

Laughing softly, bittersweetly, the golden King stared into the distance. "I hope she proves us wrong as well, friend." Was it too soon to call her such? He considered her one, after all. But it may be that she did not hold such fond attachment for him yet, or in as much depth as he claimed. Even when she irritated him, tiny needles of frustration at her declaring him to be complaining, he trusted her judgment. "I would rather complain, and have the herd safe, than any other fate." Whether or not he was a fool or a martyr for believing that, he did not care. He would do anything and everything for his herd, even if it meant keeping their Queen in a padded room with baubles to entertain her and forcing the load of ruling upon his shoulders alone.

Tallis peered at him from between twin orange towers, and his laughter resounded both at the cute positioning and the correction of the idiom. "Ah, sorry. Thank you. I'm still unsure of Helovian phrases." Amusement crinkled the corners of his pale blue eyes. He was assimilating further with every day, but sometimes he was still baffled by the intricacies of Helovian social norms. At least Evangeline was kind and patient enough to correct him so gently, and his appreciation was laced around the amusement of his own incorrect wording as he gazed at her. Truly, the world needed more Evangelines.

More somber with the reintroduction of the topic of Aurelia's mistakes, he frowned heavily and nodded to her sarcasm, aware that he was partially to blame for her appointment to Seer. "If it were up to me, she would be banished for good. What the council decides is another thing. She will never be Seer for me again, however." Voice was hard like rock, unfeeling and determined. Aurelia would never serve on his council again.