What comes first to announce the arrival of the King is a strong reply that roils like thunder over the snow. It was as regal as Tolio remembered, and he wondered why time- literally in this case, though the cinnamon warrior was not aware of this fact- had to be so cruel to keep the King and his Servant separated for so long. They had hardly gotten any time to acquaint themselves, and yet Tolio loved him like he loved his family, and was just as loyal. It was as if the day they had met, Mauja had branded him with the same ice that resided in the color his irises had been painted. He'd never be able to shake it, but he never wanted to. Never desired to fall to Psyche's shadowy ways, because she wasn't the same. Wait, hadn't he just gone over these thoughts? Tolio sighed deeply, feeling as if the last bits of his soul was strung out in the delicate mists that surrounded his muzzle. Weary, he felt so weary. Old. With how old he was, still in his prime, Tolio knew he shouldn't be feeling as if every part of him was falling apart like a doll handled too roughly. Had his seams been this loose when he had first set hoof in Helovia?

Musings were cut short when brain finally clicked and realized that the call had not come from the depths of the Basin, but behind him. Ears pricked in curiosity, and the lean stallion turned and stared out into the depths of the Steppe. Briefly he thanked his own intuition for standing so close to the borders with the Steppe, or the two would not meet face to face for longer. Tolio felt like he was dying with every moment he lingered in Helovia, and the desire to leave was like a fierce itch beneath his skin, a poison that could only be drawn out through time away from the land. Even so, he was faithful in his mental agony, and remained rooted to the spot, bald face turned to the snow and tired silver eyes awaiting the form of his King. It came soon enough, just as hard to distinguish from the flurries as the first time Tolio had met him. At that comparison a certain sense of nostalgia and things lost far too long ago struck him hard in the chest. Breath left him as if it had been a physical force that bruised his heart, the startled exhale creating a new cloud that was a paradox of warm and cold as it blew back against his face. All the while his eyes were trained carefully upon the stallion that approached, just as regal as he remembered. Like snakes wound around his organs, everything inside him squeezed and he resisted the urge to drop upon his knees and weep at the sight of him. It was the first time he'd seen him since his sudden disappearance, and knowing he was truly there, not some nameless voice in response to his call, made his legs feel weak and unstable. God, what was he, some love-struck filly?

The comparison made him laugh inwardly. Of all the males Tolio had ever fawned over, Mauja was certainly difficult to place. If he weren't his King, the bloody stallion would likely be all over him. What a shame. Mood somewhat lifted by the random thought, he stepped forward to meet the Bane halfway. Sweat clung to the curves of his muscles, dirt and perspiration darkening spots around his legs and flanks. Locks were tangled, and yet even in such disarray the Frost Heart was regal and strong. There was something...off in his eyes though, and Tolio caught onto it immediately. He saw it every time he looked into his own reflection. Misplaced, misinformed, lost. Haunted, misunderstood. A somber look came over Tolio's visage when he saw it, knowing that whatever had happened to Mauja, it had changed him. Soft snowy face betrayed every emotion, yet Tolio didn't strive to hide them from the other brute. Loyalty, relief, concern, love, dedication, and pride. It was a tangled puzzle, yet in his heart they all clicked into place. Once more they faced each other, and this time it was Tolio that moved forward, memories gripping at him like honey as he lifted his face to brush their muzzles together. Weary, knowing smile lifted his lips, telling Mauja that yes, I still remember, I'm still here, I always knew you'd come back, whydidyouleave, Idon'tcare, I'll always be at your side.

"I should ask you the same, my King," he admonished softly, mercury irises caring. Knowing. And with those two last words, Tolio sealed something that had been loose and aching ever since the blanketed brute's disappearance. In a slow, grand display, Tolio bent left front leg down until it touched the very snow beneath his hooves, head bowing in the same fashion towards his chest, nearly inhaling the cold flakes. When he straightened again, his ribcage no longer felt as if it were trying to strangle his insides. "I never stopped living under your name, Mauja. Welcome back. I...I wish this conversation didn't have to be the first we had upon your return." Taking a deep breath he steeled himself as much as he could. There was much he had to tell his King, and for once in his life he needed to get everything that had happened off his chest. Would Mauja judge him? Tolio didn't know, but he hoped he wouldn't more than anything else in the world. "This is hard for me to ask, but I wish to do so with your blessing. I didn't feel comfortable doing this without you being here...but I wish to leave Helovia." It was the first time he'd said it out loud to somebody else, and every muscle that had tensed up to make him seem like he had it together failed, and he drooped down into the broken down soul he really was. Disbelieving laugh echoed hollowly from his throat.

"It took a long time for me to decide on this. You have missed much, Mauja. I met a mare that turned my world around and upside down at least five times. I have twins...two beautiful girls, who take after me. She's a pegasus, you see. We have hurt each other, run to others, said hateful words that should never have left our lips, loved each other more than should be possible, and my heart can no longer take it. Your...replacement, Psyche...she turned me into something terrible for a long time. Without Faelene, I likely wouldn't be here. No pride keeps me from being honest with you when I say that without her, I would have killed myself in some way." Surely the Frost Heart remembered Faelene? Of course he did, he had to. Faelene having a daughter was a shock, but he hadn't seen her since catching wind of the news, and wished he could have departed with a word for her ears alone.

"Saying it now, summing it up in such a way, it seems truly petty for me to be like this over a few small circumstances. There is no way I can explain how I feel or felt to you, but I am no longer the Tolio I was when I first met you my King. I need to find him again." Dropped gaze lifted hesitantly up, a shattered soul that needed to put itself back together once more. For a while he just stared deep into Mauja's icy blue gaze, holding him there. They reflected each other like mirrors, both of them hurting and lost. Tolio could no longer help his King in this state, and so he would leave. Maybe when he had returned, was whole again, he could aid Mauja in whatever it was that plagued him. "If I want to serve beneath you, be at your side in battle and in brotherhood...I need to be strong, able. How I am now, I am of no use to you. What I ask is that you allow me, with your blessing, to travel away from here. After that well...what I ask of you may be hard. When I return, I only wish to come back here to the Basin and carry your name once more. Will you allow me this, my King?" Exhausted. He is exhausted. It almost hurts to lift his gaze enough to look Mauja in the eyes. When had they dropped again?

Somehow he is rambling, and he's unaware now of what else is slipping from his lips. "I know you may disapprove, but Psyche will never be my Queen. I cannot think of her in such a way, bow to her like those who recruited beneath her name can. She isn't you, and if you are not in power, if you leave, and I return to find you gone...I will not stay here. I want to be by your side wherever you decide to stay, if you will allow me to be there to die for you as is my purpose. My children...I also ask that you..." Voice wavered and broke and Tolio's eyes were far too moist for his liking. Clearing his throat, the stag held his head higher and tried not to break down. Mauja would never hold respect for him again if he did so. "Should either of my children seek shelter, would you please allow them a home here? Nobody can know that they are Pegasus born, so please just...let their horns speak that they are fully of my blood. I cannot tell you the name of their mother but their names are Hotaru and Raeden. I have told their mother that they are always welcome here. Faelene knows of them, and I hope that she will care for them if nobody else will. It's doubtful they will remember or care for me by the time I have returned..." Another clearing of his throat, and Tolio cursed himself for being so damned weak.

At last he realized that Mauja would likely not appreciate the rambling of his words, and he sighed softly. "You cannot hide from me Mauja. We are both a bit cracked, are we not? We reflect the same image, I would know that look anywhere after staring into it every time I approach water. Had I been myself, I would try my hardest to help you, but two broken objects cannot heal each other. If you will bless me, allow me to return to you, and open your land to my daughters...these are major things I ask of you, and should you grant me them, I will do absolutely anything you wish of me. Anything to help you." At last he fell quiet and retreated back into his shadowed face, silent. Just as silently, the snow continued to fall slowly overhead, never stopping their determined journey without paying heed to the two lost souls they decorated with white.