Though he had not thought his greeting to be particularly invasive or disruptive, it seemed the young mare thought otherwise. Her sudden action had him dissolving into a flashback, of the mages he'd once protected, the ones he had been ordered and molded into dying for at the nearest moment. Explosives, weapons, spells...all could be cast with the movement the mare had begun to make. Muscle tensed and bulged, wings tucking tight and narrowing the field of her attack, preparing for an onslaught. Teeth bared, ears pinned, and he sidestepped with surprising agility for someone with such a large frame. A spear whistled by, removed from even where he had been moments ago. The both of them stood heaving, she from exertion and he from adrenaline, flames dancing in the pale blues of his eyes. The desire to be angry was strong, but he did not allow such a response. Not until he had all the facts.

Silence was all that met her cautious words, and Kaj remained rooted, a stone in his own right as he mulled over the simplistic, insincere words he'd been awarded for his troubles. Instead, his stare was similarly piercing, unwavering. As if desiring to dissect her, find the truth in the folds of her brain, the reaction that thrummed in the sinews of her muscle. Take her apart bit by bit until he was satisfied with a veritable answer.

Her approach, her movement, forced in him a similarly instinctive movement. Widening of wings, of stance, and a narrowing of eyes. Remnants of the adrenaline that had nearly had him surging at her, bowling her over and smashing her bones to protect a mage he no longer had at his back. It reminded him sorely of Ink, of how he'd reacted to the mare that had attempted to creep upon them. It was a reaction he had not had dredged up for many years, and forcing himself to think in any higher level rather than animalistic was difficult.

Sucking in a deep breath, his wings began to deflate, posture taking a turn for normality. A quick shuttering of his eyes, and he had found his balance enough to return her words. Not in the manner she'd perhaps anticipated, though.

"You did not look before throwing your weapon, that is why," he remarked succinctly. Kaj did not appreciate the thoughtless action, he found it rather despicable, but only the deep disappointment in his eyes would tell her that. He was rather a man of action and physicality over words. "I apologize for my own reaction, it brought up...unsavory memories." Not that she hadn't deserved them, but Kaj understood that his own reasons for his reaction could likely be the same type of reasons for her initial one. Action reaction, a chain of events that Kaj had thought he'd grown out of. A dry smile pulled his lips.

"I would have been more considerate to shocking you, but my time in Helovia has taught me new things. Helovians are generally far less...violent in their reactions. I apologize for my thoughtlessness," he grunted softly, a tinge of amusement folded away in the fissures of his azures. Turning, he gave Cirrus a wide berth as he stepped out of the tree's grasp and away, allowing her to reclaim her spear comfortably with his absence. Also because he was still rather intrigued by her coloring. It reminded him of the spells the mages would weave to give them the advantage of surprise in the sky raids. Was that her affliction, or was she simply born that way? Kaj found it would likely be impolite to question her that way, and so held his tongue.

"My name is Kaj, King of the World's Edge. What brings you here, and in such a...what is the word? Fizzy?" His tongue tripped dumb and frustrating over the popular idiom, and a fierce ache settled in his heart as he recalled how Evangeline used to patiently correct him, laughter etched in the lines of her face. His face displayed his sudden pain, his sorrow, before he concealed it quickly if a bit messily. Now was not the time to be making a bad impression, though he thought with amusement that perhaps she should give him some leeway after nearly taking his head off.