Does your silence speak the words I hear,
does your reserve mean what I fear?

[ Sorry for the wait, Eomie :/ Work is not really conductive to posting. ]

Oh, how her cold soul itched for the simple touch of magic, the rush of darkness so similar to the one that flowed through his veins when the ice saluted the sky – but the thrill of power was simply gone, the stores of dark energy exhausted, depleted by something unknown. When the Gods had gone, they'd taken the magic with them, and with it, Irma's plaything. She longed to twist the silly little tiger's mind around, to breathe fear into his mouth and make the world around him whisper dark things, to find what he dreaded the most and make it all come alive. Talons sunk deeper into her bondmate's skin, the longing pouring through their entwined souls, until she felt the flickering response in him, a silent, sudden yearning to send the ice to the sky and through that pristine white body.

But nothing, nothing, was at their beck and call. Only silence flowed through their veins.

Her name was Yseulte; his name was Itzal.

His head tilted slightly to one side, gaze skimming over the white predator before returning to the mare they both had come for.. Saga. Slowly, he inclined his head, his white mane flowing about his neck with the gentle movement. Conversation always flowed like the tide, rising and ebbing, and it was his turn to fall silent, and listen. Yseulte spoke of something that could only be a small group, perhaps and Outcast band or a faction of the Edge – Valkyries, she called them, valuing freedom, and somehow he got the feeling they did not reside in the Edge.. not if freedom was what they had to offer. Constant danger and strife, more like it, his mind murmured, but he said nothing of it. There was no reason to make an enemy out of someone when he didn't even know their agenda, but it was undeniable that many small bands had sprung up all over. Pirates, assassins, and now these Valkyries, whatever they were.

But it seemed the lure of a stable home was greater, though Mauja had to smother a snort at the reasoning. Tired of the cold? Welcome to the north. Soggy grass? Well.. was the Basin grass soggy? No.. the winters up there were dry, weren't they.. but what about the warm ground? Did it melt the snow? It was awkward to realize he'd not spent much time at all in the Basin this winter, and barely remembered the last one.

"Well, Saga, let me warn you that the way to the Basin is fairly cold," he interjected smoothly, once the decision had been announced, and chose not to comment on Saga's interest in the Valkyries. While he disliked the notion of harboring someone and just waiting for them to leave, perhaps he could convince her (or leave someone else to convince her) that the Basin was worth staying in – maybe, he could even convince her to spy for them.. but that was a task for another day and time. Now, he had to get Saga home in one piece, through the compact darkness. Maybe she wouldn't want to leave once she was in the Basin, given the utter darkness of the Steppe. You had to know your way by heart to get across it.

At the comment of Irma, Mauja laughed, the sound both soft and deep in the darkness. "But of course; when we walk, perhaps? Yseulte, it was a pleasure meeting you. Have a good, well, day – I really don't know what point of a normal day it is right now..." He offered the tiger-mare a smile, inclining his head, before turning to face north and west, to lead Saga out of the forest by the Foothills and then, the long trek through the cold, dark north.

[ soo, idk, do you guys want to get a last post in? and Eomie, do you want me to start something for us in the Basin? :3 ]