[ this is getting quite old and idk where Pheo is, so maybe just wrap it up/fade to black? ]

She was studying him with an intensity he wasn't quite used to. It was impossible to avoid attracting attention in a land that knew him so well, perhaps even expected things of him, but few peered at him with such scrutiny, such open eyes — perhaps others would stare at him and look for flaws, cracks in the ice to jam their horns into and pry open and lay his weakness bare.. but her eyes were so warm, as if she saw every ounce of darkness and every crack, but wished nothing more than to chase the shadows away and smooth out the scars. As the dark, the brief guilt, flashed through him, she caught on immediately. Even if he hadn't been watching her just as intently he would've seen it, the way she drew forward a step, a curious tilt to her head as if to say it's okay, you can tell me. He forced the bitterness down, the mad urge to confess it all; instead, he let his lips curl into a faint smile, letting the gesture speak some words of comfort his tongue would not. She needed not worry about him, when she had herself, and Lana, to worry for. Why concern yourself with the enemy, when you had your own people to treat?

It faded away into the open look he often wore, his black-rimmed ears politely tipped forward to listen. Strange, how at ease she seemed, how a little kindness could go such a long way. Mauja could name more than a few individuals in the Basin who would find it the height of amusement to earn some modicum of trust before shattering it all with a cruel stroke; fortunately, for the pair of them, he was not among those. There was a kind of sincerity to Mauja he didn't quite know where it came from, some deeply rooted morals and honor.. something that just existed, as much a part of him as the ice was.

But there was also something dark and horrible, something terrifying he did not speak of lest it rear its ugly head in daylight, a ruthlessness which sometimes frightened him.

Pray he wouldn't need it today. Pray he could wallow in his weakness a little longer.

Her words teased another small smile out of him, a subtle curve of his mouth, a flash of light in his eyes. She truly seemed harmless, and at the same time he couldn't help but wonder — was she? Or was her reasons for being here more sinister, a keen mind behind a naive attitude? Why had she given herself up to Faelene anyway, why did she not bear marks of slavery, of rebellion? Was her reason for being complacent something more than simple kindness? His heart thought not, but the heart is often stupid. While he would not accuse her of it, or even believe it, just yet.. he had to keep it in mind. His head turned away, slightly, at her words, gaze traveling the jagged peaks. "The Basin can be a harsh place," he murmured in a soft voice, before turning to look upon them again, once more offering that small smile. "Best make what you can of this chance, then — it's not every day you find both guide and guard in one." With Irma to alert him to unwelcome eyes it would not be hard to let them roam for a bit, enjoy the sunshine, and he could easily return them to where they had come from. No need to get lost...