en natt så kall och månen den var klar

[ @[Sielu] and @[Illynx] first please, then anyone is welcome. <3 Date: May 1st, continuation of Cry like you should. It's raining, approaching sunrise; they're still in Threshold territory. ]

It tore at his heart, to see his youngest girl like this: inches from a brink he could not pull her back from, halfway into a darkness she had to crawl out of herself, or be pulled in. To find one of your children on what could very possibly be the doorstep of death... Because she was so cold under his muzzle, so fragile and her voice so weak, damp limbs quivering against the chilling mud.

She didn't remember Lena—maybe they'd never even met, Mauja hardly knew enough of what his daughter had done in the Basin because he'd broken every promise he'd made Faelene—but that hardly mattered. He'd only asked to keep her thoughts from freezing, to keep her awake even as the cold spring rain sluiced down from heaven to drench them all. His hot breath rose in clouds towards the distant, dreary sky as his child rallied the last of her strength—and came upright. Mud scraped off on him as she braced, his hooves finding roots and stable rocks to press against as the narrow young mare heaved herself up.

If only it could've ended there.

Agony, as sudden as a thunderclap, rushed into his mind, a startling, bone-deep pain causing his nerves to resonate with empathy; the wordless cry Sielu uttered was given voice by him, a strangled, drawn-out yelp. For a moment he lost sight of the world, blackness devouring him, but the surprise rattled the walls of his mind loose. They rose, and he felt the black tide of her pain beat against them like waves against tall cliffs, sliding along the inside of his skull.. until they receded, and he dared to listen to her voice again. In hindsight, it was a miracle he hadn't fallen over.

Sielu's slim form was shaking next to him, pressed tight against his side by Illynx; slowly, Mauja's heart rate returned to normal. “Legs hurt. Head hurts. It burns.” It tore at him to hear her mind's voice, hear the pain and the fear, to cause her all of this—but if they didn't.. if they didn't lead her to safety and warmth, a healer and some food... He couldn't bear thinking of it, just leaned in to press his muzzle against her neck. "Sh, I know, I know, but it's not far," he told her gently, the lies falling from his tongue with ease. To call the Basin "not far" was like saying snow was green, and he was starting to think that, for all her charm and skill, maybe Lena was a bit too far away to be the best option.

But Illynx broke into his thought, in such a manner that made him want to just lean over Sielu's neck and stab her a little. "Brace her, she cannot walk."

And some of his control broke, burst open, and some blackness rolled out with his voice.

"No shit," he spat at her. "What do you think I'm doing?" Because honestly, if Mauja wasn't there to cushion the pressure Illynx was putting on poor Sielu, they both would've fallen over and Sielu probably would've been crushed beneath the fat weight of the golden lady and whatever spawn was growing in her womb and eating her brains (because she was being a lot more stupid than usual).

Still, such.. childish anger always made him chafe when he gave in to it, nor was it productive; his main focus was getting Sielu alive to someone who could help her. He could deal with pushing Illynx off a cliff later. So he ground his teeth together and when the fat lady rocked into motion, he followed suit, trying to trap Sielu between them with an even pressure.

"It seems wiser to not press her so far north," and he had to bite his tongue; was she saying it for his benefit, or because she wanted to seem wise, and noble? Because, newsflash, Mauja had arrived to the same conclusion, and only someone utterly stupid would fail to notice how weak the child was.

But maybe she thought he was utterly stupid.

Wouldn't be surprising, after all.

Or she thought everyone was like herself—in which case she was utterly stupid.

But as she went on, one of his ears flicked with thinly veiled interest. Midas? Hidden Falls? Wasn't Midas still in the south, frolicking in sand with idiot Pegasus mares and that dumb-dumb Gaww-chooo who thought he was so fucking hot and dangerous? Weren't the Foothills closer?

But maybe it was that demon spawn in her womb eating her brains again because clearly they were taking a northerly course; Mauja remained silent, and simply hobbled along, hoping they'd be able to keep Sielu standing between them until they reached their destination. If she were to fall.. it'd all be over.

"Just keep going," he told his child in a gentle voice, "we'll get you there safe and sound."

Lies. Because what else could he tell her?

Se dem brinna över verkan se dem dansa framför bål
Se dem mässa inför satan se dem smida sina stål