Aurelius was a hardy creature, strong for his size, but by now he was certain that he couldn’t point out one body part that wasn’t aching. With his relatively short legs, the travel had taken him much longer than one of regular size, and the heat made his joint swell slightly. Now wasn’t the time to show weakness, however, not while standing in front of a female. As he was about to reply to her introduction, he was interrupted by the arrival of yet another stranger. His left ear flicked back and forth a couple of times at the sight of the massive, ivory steed. This stallion towered well above him, but that wasn’t going to intimidate Aury. Something about him seemed peculiar; the drawven stag couldn’t point out what it was. He introduced himself as king, and Aurelius nodded his head respectfully, but nothing more than what he had offered Solstice upon her arrival. So he was a king, that didn’t mean much to Aury – he had no idea if he was the only one in this land holding that title, or if every other hessian with his head in the clouds could pronounce himself king of something something.

Aurelius counted himself a gentleman, so naturally he took time to respond to Solstice before returning to the newcomer. "Thank you for welcoming me, Lady Solstice," he said politely. Turning to the white brute, he raised his crown to look him in the eye. "Your highness, a pleasure," Aurelius spoke, simply nodding at Mauja’s notion about the weather. He could only agree the thought of a blizzard seemed eerily attractive right now. The slick smile on Mauja’s face made Aury ponder about his intentions, but then again he was always suspicious of stranger stallions. He didn’t know either of these horses, but he felt a certain distance between them, certainly they weren’t warmhearted in their interaction. As Solstice started speaking, he pricked his ears towards her, listening and trying to absorb the information in his weary mind. The names didn’t tell him much, be it of the souls who dwelled there or the climate in which it was located, so he decided to investigate further. "Tell me Lady Solstice, who rules The Windtossed Foothills? I would love to hear more," he said gently. He needed more information in order to make a decision.

Looking back to Mauja, he fell quiet for a moment. He wasn’t sure if an all-unicorn herd was what he wished to go through again, considering how rotten his former dwelling had been, but here they didn’t know his history. They didn’t know of his heritage, that his mother was an equine and that he was a bastard. "I would appreciate to learn about The World’s End as well, Lord Mauja." He sensed he would have to use his cunning around this one, but he also saw opportunities in joining the white stag. Time would have to tell which he would choose to follow.