[ no worries! <3 we're patient. and I'm supertired. and this is like 75% rambly crap. sorry. >____>; ]

Beat, and throb. Curious, how the body settled into a rhythm, something that easily fell into the back of his mind. Pain was, after all, nothing but an alert, and why listen again, when he had already heard it once? In this state where nothing changed, merely standing up, it was pointless. He knew, that if he would get it into his head to walk off, he'd remember the pain before he'd even taken a single step. Funny, how it worked. He also happened to know that he was out on very, very thin ice. It probably was rotten, too. Any moment it could give way beneath him and the game be lost. He tried to not be too troubled by it, to not let the fear of it tense him up and send his heart hammering. Dreven would not fear falling through; for him, no ice existed.

A pity Dreven didn't exist, either.

But the name, the greeting, made her smile; he offered a small one return, as if, perhaps, hesitant, unsure of if it was impolite of him if he did smile in the presence of the Chancellor. And in all honesty, something bothered him slightly. She was, he could tell, largely in control of herself. It made her hard to read. He couldn't know if she spoke lies, pretending it to be truth, just like he did — and how he could seem genuine, well, it was hard, under the circumstances.. like smiling as you walked across that thin, rotten ice, as if utterly oblivious to the danger. Either that, or over-confident, but he didn't want Dreven to stray too far into that.

The easiest way was to take as much of himself as he could and cram into the name. What he could, without giving himself away. For now, he would have to trust her words, and play along to the best of his extent. With the way his mind spun, spinning suitable tales, preparing for what he could.. it would not be hard to explain the slight caution that was the base of everything he showed. It hinted even behind the smile, the rapt attention on his gaze. Oh, yes. Dreven was not quite sure he wanted to be found.. at least not by anyone else. And she mentioned the Sun God; Mauja laughed bitterly inside, knowing full well that the God wouldn't give him something except a nice fat scar if he could, but Dreven only blinked rapidly a few times, bringing his head up and tilting is slightly to the side. His dirty, matted locks clung to his sweaty neck. "I - maybe..." His voice trailed off into silence, 'brows drawing together in a frown as he pondered the possibility. Wondrous, that a God would take notice of such a creature as Dreven. Highly unlikely, and Mauja wanted to shake his head. If anything, the Sun God was just fucking with him, exchanging his magic just because he could. He certainly wouldn't put it past the arrogant, hotheaded deity.

And just as the burn had been approached, he knew it had only been a question of time until she touched the next; the wound itself. Still frowning slightly he turned his white head, cautiously, to peer at the clotted blood and diluted pink streams. As if talking about it invited it to come back to life a pain spike shot through his system, and a half-formed grimace flitted across his face before it faded into the same dull throb again. Mauja was hardly scarless, whorls from fire-burns already visible across his back, and several other clean, straight lines which obviously came from unicorn horns. Most were from spars, a long time ago. "No harm in asking, Sumati, no harm in asking," he replied lightly, the gears of his head turning as he let his blue eyes fall back to her face. "I am, ah, not so easily offended.. in most areas." And if he didn't want to answer, he just wouldn't. A small sigh followed his words. "Let's just say I had a run-in with someone who has a grudge against me," he hedged, suddenly careful again, like when he'd given his name; his eyes watched her intently, trying to read what he could. Whatever his reasons, Dreven was careful and private. Not necessarily distrustful, but it was clear that he was not about to say everything to someone he'd just met.