Mauja the FrostHeart
ice cold man watches earth die, eternal winter takes its reign

A fool and a craven. Unfaithful. He heard the words but made no move to answer as he moved from his place by the pony's side - he could've shouted over his shoulder if he wanted to, but he kept his thoughts to himself for a moment. A fool and a craven. An unfaithful fool and a craven. Mauja frowned at the surf, coming to stop a ways out with water touching his girth; his blue eyes were fixed on the far horizon, but one ear flickered back when he heard the telltale sounds of the pony coming closer. Aury was a curious individual, and if his status had indeed been what he'd described it as, it wasn't strange that he didn't flinch at sudden movements. He could hardly give anyone the satisfaction of frightening him, now, could he? He'd be mocked about. So, in a sense it made perfect sense that he hadn't been startled by the ice spike - it was a bit, well, boring, though. The King was kind to his own, but mischievous all the same. He enjoyed startling others.

Aurelius, short as he was, had to swim out here - Mauja gave him a wry, but fairly unreadable, smile, and picked up their conversation from earlier as if nothing at all had happened. "I wonder how he got to lead if he was both fool and craven," he mused aloud - but it was true. The pale King himself had it hammered pretty hard into him that you had to be worthy of your place, and it showed in every action he did, in the way he took care of his herd. It wasn't just for power. Of course, power played a part in it, but mainly the thing which drove him was a queer kind of love. "And if she had a problem about his unfaithfulness, she should've done something about it. She sounds more like the type to sweep it in under the carpet, and pretend it never happened. Morons," he grunted, striding out deeper until the sandy bottom deserted even him; strong legs began to kick beneath the surface, moving him forward at a gentle pace. It felt good to be embraced by the cool waters. Idly he wondered about Aurelius real mother - she must've been quite the something, because the pony himself was not stupid like his father.

Before he had a chance to ask, however, a question he hadn't really been expecting came. Mauja... So, getting his shaggy belly wet had made him comfortable enough to drop the titles. That part pleased him, the question didn't - not really. It was phrased carefully, but he couldn't make out what kind of answer Aurelius wanted. He'd not seemed to mind the hornless mare in the Threshold an awful lot, so chances were he wasn't a supremacist by nature... He turned his eyes to the sea for a moment, composing his thoughts. Best to be careful - better to hold Aurelius at arm's length for a while longer, instead of plunge in and realizing you'd made an error of judgment. A slight frown appeared on his face before he tilted his head back, looking at the short stallion. "The Foothills are open to those who wish to mingle with all species, without boundaries. But, there are some among my kind who are uncomfortable around the others. Those who are not can reside in the Foothills, so who am I to deny the rest of my species a haven where they can feel safe and comfortable?" It was mostly true - after all, he cared little for the unicorns who gallivanted around with hornless. And if you knew Mauja, you might believe that it was the complete truth, because he was one who cared for his flock. And, to be completely honest, it was 98% of the truth. The last 2% consisted of I don't like hornless.

The fact that he wanted to bring all of Helovia under unicorn rule wasn't related to why only unicorns lived in the Edge. Not really.