For all he loved her, Kaj had known that someday Isopia's intricacies would land her in trouble. Not everyone saw with the philosophical detachment that she did, and though he'd accept her any way she was packaged, there were violent beasts in the world that would sooner squander her uniqueness than try to understand her. He hadn't intentionally followed the dame, though his wandering steps had tread the path he'd seen her form take. A part of him desired only to protect her, though she held no blood of his and was gifted with magic far beyond his own capabilities. That, and the blood of a God to aid her. Though his aim had been the Throat's borders, it seemed he'd been put in the right place at the right time. Or so he hoped. 

It was the sound of stone that attracted him first, turning and watching as Isopia covered a form that lay prostrate upon the ground. Dead, then. Isopia would never do something without reason, after all. And only when he turned, heading towards her, did Kaj truly recognize the body that she was burying beneath her talents. Oh, Lace... it sighed wearily inside his head, inside his heart, coming out on a soundless but emphatic exhale. He'd had quite a few disastrous meetings with the stallion, but they'd been family once, and Kaj had respected him nonetheless. Yet another soul I cannot repair my wrongs with...

There is another there, though his eyes don't find her until snide remarks start ripping through her throat at Isopia. And dear Gods, was that Nyx? It had been ages since he'd last laid eyes upon the mare, but she was undeniably returned to Helovia. Not that this was an appropriate reunion event. Far more inappropriate when - good Gods is this a gathering of all the souls Kaj has ever let down? - Tandavi bursts screaming onto the scene, ferocious in her grief, not understanding. Display absolutely none of her mother's general levelheadedness, burning bright with her own fires, a true child of the sun and sand. 

His heart is torn four-fold.

Tandavi, the child of his past, his niece in so many ways. Nyx and Lace, old friends and, once upon a time, family. And Isopia, the girl he did not always understand but whose ideals were respectable to him, and she dear to his heart in other ways. He moves to intercede as quickly as he can, heart thundering loudly in his ears, hoping he can find the words to fix this event.

He steps between them, and though Isopia is a hair taller than him, it is the motion that speaks for itself. Wings loosen, not quite spreading wide in intimidation or warning, but preparing for it. 

"Stop," he bids quietly, but with unwavering strength. "Your anger does not quell your grief, don't hide behind it to try and cope." A mortal, insistent flaw. Ktulu over Hototo, Archibald over Circe, Aurelia over her companion. Kaj has seen enough hatred and anger be born into the world over misplaced grief, and he won't allow Isopia to become another casualty in that unfair war. "It honors him," he pointed out quietly, muzzle moving towards the beautiful inscription Isopia had placed upon the center stone. "There is no better alternative to bury him, and he would not want you to weep upon his corpse, because it does not do justice to who he was as a stallion while he was alive."

His heart is pounding, wondering if they're even listening to him, if they'll even care. If they'll attack him like they were Isopia, only because he sides with her. Their grief is fresh, and at its strongest, but he hopes his voice can peel back the barrier that shields their eyes. Body deflating he moves towards Tandavi, wing opening in tentative gesture, inviting her to hide against his body, away from this reality that he cannot spare her from. "I am so sorry, my child," he murmured, because there was nothing else to say. Nyx was too faded and removed a memory, a friend, for him to offer her the same condolences. And regardless of Tandavi's choice, Kaj's eyes moved towards Isopia. "Naamloos," he murmured, trying to pull her attention, her name still lost and unknown to him. "I know your heart was in the right place, but perhaps you should try to explain." Would she even be able to adequately enough for the grief-stricken mares beside him?