Big eyes stared up at him, awe written in the fissures of her colorful irises. Kaj smiled, chuckling softly to himself to see her innocence painted so plainly upon her face. It was rejuvenating, and he felt a fondness for her guileless nature already forming in those first tender moments of meeting. Ah, but Kaj knew he was a sucker for foals, who was he kidding? It had as much to do with her honesty as it did her age, and the King would never be able to deny it in good faith. There was simply something about foals that kept him tethered to their sides, loving them, protecting them, nurturing them. Though he'd once thought of telling Kahlua that he could love her without ever having a child with her, Kaj could finally see that such a thing was never a possibility. His love for the little souls, the new lives, was too strong for him to give up having it for his own someday.

To hear the blunt, careless words fall from the child's lips was painful. It would have been different had she defended her mother, but it was all the clearer that this Arvakl was an unfit mother if Tempe did not even see the need to lie. Was she unaware of how abnormal her situation was? Then again, Helovia was nothing like Kaj's homeland. Even a foal born of an affair was a treasure, priceless and valued beyond belief. Tempe's situation would never have occurred in his old home, and it hurt to see her history repeated so often before his eyes, even within the realm at his back, the one he reigned over.

A frown pulled at his lips, eyes soft with concern and sadness in equal, warring amounts. "I am sorry that you have been treated so ill by the soul who was supposed to love you unconditionally, kleine zwerver." Kaj wondered if it would matter to her, his words, or if she knew so little of how sad her situation was that she'd wave it off with a smile and a laugh that would only weigh his heart all the further. Instead, as she shoved forward her companion, Kaj managed a smile for both her and the creature before him. Bending his neck down to Tempe's level, he gazed at Haruki, smiling warmly. "It is nice to meet you Haruki," he said directly to the kitsune, then turned and winked cheerily at Tempe. "He is a beautiful friend, I am sure he loves you just as much." Kaj could not adequately understand the bond between the two, but he did not doubt the love flowed both ways. Perhaps that was a comfort to the wandering lass.

Bucephalus. Kaj wracked his mind for any mention of the stag, but he shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, little one, but I don't know him. I know of his leads, though. Gaucho, Sohalia and Tandavi?" Though it seemed Tempe wouldn't know them, if her next words were anything to go by. Kaj couldn't help the awful expression that crossed his face before he could properly keep it in check. What the hell? Why would they keep the foal out just because the mother was a nuisance? Surely they had wetnurses available, or milkweed! Something! If the mare was a problem, surely they would see that Tempe would be in trouble as well!

"That is unacceptable," he growled softly, eyes alight with lightning fury on her behalf. "You are not your mother, you should not be punished. You could die out in the wilds alone, zwerver. If you ever need a place to stay, to be safe, you are welcome here in the Edge. You can stay with me personally, we will feed you and keep you warm at night." There was not a single regret in extending that right to her, and Kaj would not listen to any objections against it. Wings shuffled and extended in a grand display, motioning to the entirety of the lands that stretched out endlessly to his sides and behind him. He quieted his voice, not wanting to scare her, and tucked his wings close, dropping his head to the child's level. He was not above her, would not let her think he was. "If there is ever anything I can do for you, just ask. Okay?" A warm smile stretched his pale golden lips, warm summer sky eyes falling upon her form like a blanket of reassurance.

klein zwerver - little wanderer
zwerver - wanderer

@[Tempe]