but somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin' dreams

Well. None of them laughed at him—which he wasn't sure was good or bad. Like, if they had, would it have been at him? Or with him? (But how can they laugh about something they don't know of?) So, while he had to suffer through a recovery that wasn't his most elegant, he didn't have to suffer through more ridicule than he'd already brought down on himself. And frankly, he would rather take it in stride than go through that.. heart-shattering moment of they think I'm a freak—he knew that sensation all too well, like little needles of ice forcing their way through his veins; through his lungs; through everything, leaving bleeding rashes in their cruel wake.

"Hello King Mauja!" King. King. King king king. King Mauja. He never figured out what to make of it, ever since his return—ever since he had shouted the King is dead, and maybe they'll see it, in the twitch that earns him a glare from the owl, or in the brief, glassy look in his eyes.

He couldn't even explain it, the multitude of things passing through his mind at the sound of those words in conjunction—King, and his own name. It was like they were calling for the dead, and ghosts can't answer—but the mare was smiling, so sweet, and before he even knew it she'd dipped her head and bent her knee, light as the feathers upon her wings. Rue, she said her name was, echoed closely by Nyx. He nodded to her.

"Please," he rumbled gently, not quite thinking along the same lines as Nyx—why hide the fact that they were mad, nicknaming children? Mauja was Mauja and he was old enough to be proud of it (eh—not really, not all those bloody secrets, not all the shame and guilt still locked behind clenched teeth), old enough not to.. care?

It was a mess—he cared when it wasn't well received, but he wasn't going to cover up the fact that he could be a right derp.

"Queen Mauja," he went on, barely aware of the thoughts and reflections racing like falling stars within his own head, "but I prefer just Mauja. No need for all the bendy-knee-ness either." A slight frown furrowed his 'brows, a temporary shadow cast over the blue of his gaze; it felt like he'd forgotten something..? His head tilted, forelock sliding off the side of his face. A second later the shadows cleared. Geeze. Idiot. "And of course you can stay here!" Ta-daa. Light bulbs.

[ @Nyx @Ruairi || Requested a change for you a few days ago, sorry for the wait :/ I've gotten severely backlogged on my threads the past couple of weeks, and being in the middle of moving doesn't help! The actual move is tomorrow so hopefully I'll become faster after next week. Also lmfao Snow when you put it like that Mauja sounds very .. dangerous ... ]

man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same