Striking mights and maybes even more

A useless thing called life

It's a biting cold again

It was good to know that life would go on, that they would rebuild - that not he alone shared this dream, this.. goal. To call it a dream, did not really do it justice, as it was not to unattainable. They simply had to reach out..from the shadows..grasp what they wanted and hold it through the storm of hell that would surely come. Faelene had visited the Threshold a few times in the past, and that she continued now despite them being set adrift in the sea of snow was heart-warming. He was not alone in this. He, alone, did not need to shoulder the burden of moving them forward. As long as others, like Faelene, helped to share the burden, to take up the slack when others grew tired for a while, they could do it. Together. Together they would gain momentum. To have the proof of this in front of him, that just because they no longer lived in the Edge they wouldn't wither... that they would go on, operate as usual despite a change in circumstance... Few things could be more inspiring than that, lifting a burden he hadn't been aware of from his heart.

"Thank you," he murmured, sincere, heartfelt, even as his attention shifted to the chestnut stallion. He seemed pleasant enough, and Faelene had found no fault with him, so the King doubted that he would either. Charcoal-rimmed ears flipped forward as the other began to speak, drinking in the nuances of his voice and the meaning of his words, while watching him more closely than he seemed to. He seemed honest at least, but it was very hard to tell with strangers. Tolio. For a moment Mauja was silent, mulling over the words, something thoughtful in his eyes, though there was no chance in hell he'd turn such a unicorn away. Merely a heartbeat or two passed before Faelene's voice cut into the quiet, commenting on.. what? For a moment he had to think before realizing that she was talking about the owl. A wry, vaguely amused grin curled his lips as he nudged the notion that Faelene liked her Irma's way - as he had suspected, he was met with a wall of cold indifference. Being a solitary creature she had no understanding for herds and their workings, nor why she should appreciate a compliment from another. Perhaps he would thaw her icy heart with time, but who knew?

"Thank you - though she would not say the same. She doesn't really understand why I insist on being around my own kind... It's not in her nature to do it." He gave a small, apologetic shrug, forcing the urge to return the compliment. It would be weird, calling her beautiful in that way. She was unique with her blood-red hair, had a fairly average, compact build, more homely than stunning, but when it came down to it, her appearance was certainly not why he valued her. She was the reason, plain and simple as that, though it worried him slightly how much he had come to depend on others as his herd grew in numbers. Would that be his downfall?

His blue eyes switched back to Tolio, kindness in them and a smile on his face. "I will be more than happy to include you in my extended family, Tolio. These are unstable times and unusual circumstances, both which pulls us all closer - there is no room for doubting one another. If you wish to learn how to physically protect, there are many warriors, myself included, who would not mind teaching you." Smoothly he drew forth a step, a slight disturbance in the greater scheme of things, and aimed to bump his warm, soft muzzle against Tolio's: the final, official hello, welcome.