“MAUJA!” The call was sharp and staccato, loud and piercing, breaking the silence and serenity that otherwise seemed to be present on the island. Much like an angry mother, the otherwise passive queen began to move towards the Frostheart with feet stamping heavily into the ground. The scowl on her face certainly would not win her any prizes for beauty and her ears flung half-back betrayed her anger with the appaloosa. Still, she was not only made of anger. Atop of her cerulean gaze sat crystalline tears, welling over the margins of her lower lids. Her lashes were damp with drops that had already fallen and her heavy breath could have been due to either rage or distress.

As she stomped towards the man she might have called friend a few seasons ago, too many emotions swirled within her. Why was she even approaching him? Perhaps it was the words of Ophelia- that she had to live for herself and that she could not giving away her soul to make others happy- that had inspired her to do so. She easily could have avoided him, could have kept his murderous soul away from herself and her companion and her herd, but that would be giving too much of herself. She would be giving up her piece of mind so that Mauja could continue to live his terrible life. And, after all, hadn’t she learned from Ophelia and Maat both that she needed to give less and to face her problems. She was trying, this time, to do both. She was being selfish, chasing Mauja down when he would probably rather hide and she would face her problem instead of avoiding it, though it pained her to approach him.

And so, contradictory though the two ideas seemed, she found herself standing before the appaloosa. “You promised you would come back to the Edge,” she snapped at him, the frustration evident in her voice. She had seen what had happened- Mauja standing by the fallen body of Psyche. It was just another murder in a long string that had been unsettling Helovia. Her words grew darker. “I’m glad you didn’t.” One of the tears that had been threatening to fall dislodged itself from her eye and trickled down her cheek. “Just imagine all the lies you would have told, and I would have stood up for you.” Chocking back a sob, she looked at him, cautious of the horn atop his head, conscious of the fact that all he had to do was lower it and she would be dead.

She was not strong enough to do this- not a warrior or a sleuth, not smart or strong- but she couldn’t let this go on any longer. The murders had to end, and they had to end now. “But I guess I should have guessed… once a murderer, always a murderer.” The venom dripped from her voice as she accused him of the heinous acts. She was accusatory and unforgiving, but she was heartbroken by the very idea. She had dared to love this man as a friend, to stand up for him when all others would have turned him away, and though it was her own gentle heart that had opened to the Frostheart, the Sunshower blamed him for taking advantage of her simple soul.

Above, Khan circled, keeping watchful eye on his emotionally tumultuous companion. His normally playful personality was subdued as he watched. He felt, in this moment, that it was more important to watch over his queen than to flirt with mischief. There could be trouble afoot.

@[Mauja]

Khan & Kahlua