Kahlua entered her home at a canter, her body enveloped with the mists that the moon goddess had seen fit to bestow upon the members of the herd for the season. It was nice to be able to use them to escape the monstrous heat that had been plaguing the land ever since the sun had returned. Kahlua was not sad that the sun had returned to its daily treks across the sky, the darkness had been terrible for her peace of mind, but she did miss the cool weather. Still, she did not think of much of the heat now. She had more important things on her mind. She had been told important information and, thinking of how it would help her standing in the eyes of her superiors, she was eager to relay it.

After a moment of dodging trees at a run, Kahlua slowed to a trot and began to look around her. She had been so eager to return from the Foothills that she had not really thought of who she would try to find. She hardly knew who would be interested. Immediately her thoughts went to Lace and Aaron. They were her direct superiors, after all; however, Kahlua had been unable to find them for sometime now. Try as she might and search though she tried, they had hidden themselves from her sight quite thoroughly. After that she thought of Thor. The stallion had always been kind to her, but the last time she had come upon him he had seem troubled with worries beyond her comprehension. She thought it best to leave him be. Mirage, then? Kahlua had never met the mare, and truth be told she was almost frightened to by now. After all, she had been here two seasons and more and she had yet to even speak a word to her queen. The lady must be very busy... too busy for a simple craftsmen like Kahlua.

Who then? She thought to herself as she continued her easy trot through the woods. She ached her brain by trying to think so much, when finally it came to her. Kaj. She did not know the stallion well, having only met him briefly in the post-invasion chaos, but he had seemed kindly and had not chastised her for her lack of knowledge. In addition, he had seemed to hold authority over the others. He had been commanding- almost larger than life. Perhaps Mirage did not have time for such a lowly peon as herself, but certainly she would have time for Kaj. Yes, she said with certainty to herself. She would tell the information to Kaj, who could then relay it to Mirage if he deemed it necessary. Now... where to find him?

“Kaj?” She called out hesitantly at first, though she could not say way. “Kaj!” She said it louder this time, with more certainty. Her voice held a dancing quality that he may or may not recognize. She had been so fearful after the invasion, after all. She had hardly understood what was going on. Still... she hoped he would come if he was near enough to hear her. Slowing to a walk, she looked around herself in the woods, seeking signs of any life. The slowly setting sun was making the task slightly more difficult, but she had faith that she would find him soon. Even if Kaj could not hear her, perhaps she would be able to find somebody who knew where he was at.

@[Kaj]- Won't tag you every time, just wanted you to see this :)

There is a weight to his soul that drags him down, deep into an abyss of confusion and thoughts best left untouched. It had kept him on patrols, drifting like the dead in a sky left light and hopeful with the return of the celestials. Falling didn't scare him, this was where he belonged after all. But his adventures, the wandering and enjoyment of the sun he embodied, those had come to an end. At times he toyed with the idea of leaving to visit Onni, the only other being he felt normal around. Perhaps it was because they were both so odd, so oblivious to all but the most obvious and logical of things. She was his best friend, and at times he wondered if she were his only. Had he not had Destrier at his shoulder in every dangerous event they had faced together, he might have doubted it more. Had he not taken Resplendence beneath wing, close to his heart, he might have wondered if maybe...maybe...

There was a thought lingering there, just below the surface of his comprehension, just beyond the length of his reach. Touch skimmed it, nearly grasped it, felt the shape of it available in one fleeting touch, and then it shattered. This was a pattern he'd paced through restlessly seemingly day after day. It was always just...beyond...his grasp. And he despised that wicked thought, that solution to all the daymares that haunted him, to the sink in his throat and the burn of his eyes as the night faded into blackness, the antithesis to both the sun and the silken glow of the moon before she claimed her throne and true night hailed, and he curled alone beneath the hourglass above to sleep in fitful spurts, trying always...always...to grasp that flickering answer.

Tonight is just as any other; he does not hold it in his hand just as he had not even skimmed the surface days ago. Nights ago, perhaps a more fitting answer. And in the silence of the air he rides like a lonesome golden eagle he hears all, and in that wicked noiselessness that consumes each breath and beat of heart to tear into something meaningless, he hears his name. But no, it couldn't be, because he is nothing but a flicker of gold in passing shadows, nothing to be remembered or mourned, praised or hailed. He is merely...him. A canvas, a warrior with a broken sword hefting a worn shield with a shattered crest. But he fights on because they expect him to. Because he loves them in a way a child loves a parent no matter how fiercely they draw its blood. Nothing he may be to them, but they had soaked their very essence into his blood, and would circulate endlessly, timelessly, under the hourglass. Always the hourglass. Ticking away his time, his worth, with every trickle of sand falling from that shallow pathway. Youth is without youth, in all ironic purposes, and what will he have left behind when he is called to meet his sister who had never had the chance to fill her own with sand. It had been fate's decision to pour so little into her cup, wicked and cruel as she crumbled before life could even begin, scared of the plane nobody could see and struggling to clutch at strings of bravery Kaj had been unable to lend her.

He wonders every night if she died knowing only fear, even with her guardian at her side.

But that sound, it resonates as a reminder in his head, beseechingly ringing into the soundlessness where he is trapped and passionless. And true to the disbelieving dismissal he'd first assumed, it is his name. In a voice he knows, as well.

Golden feathers only faintly glow in the light of a sun slowly retreating, but he tips them regardless and his legs kiss the treetops in longing. The Edge's shores had replaced his heartbeat seasons ago; had the waters worn away the solidarity of his heart as they had the bleached cliffs of his home?

Landing softly as a feline might he curls his appendages inwards, shaking off every sign of oddity and giving a kindly smile to the maiden who had summoned him. Kahlua, the little doe he'd protected and defended from Aaron's targetless and wrongly pointed wrath. "Kahlua," he greets warmly, dipping his head respectfully towards her as he moves closer from his landing to share his presence with her on this sunless time of limbo. It still scared him to see it sink below the horizon, fearing it would remain distant and dark as it had for so long. "Is all well?" Lyrics are low as thunder but gentle, inviting, wishing she would share with him secrets that could keep his own troubles at bay.

---
@[Kahlua]
Oh dear, you just...made my Kaj muse explode. Let me love you.

As she waited and looked, Kahlua was forced to deal with her own problems. Even though her mind was occupied with thoughts of the changing Foothill's leadership, and how she somehow felt it imperative to share her new knowledge, she could not ignore the setting of the sun. Much like the warrior, Kahlua feared each sunset. She had entered this land even more naïve than she was now, when the sun had still made it's daily walks across the sky. Then the darkness had come, and never left. She had met Onni, the Shaman telling her horrors in the night. She hadn't believed her, called Onni crazy even, but the pegasus had been right all along. There were many nights Kahlua dreamed of the fire monster that had crawled from the depths of hell through Helovia's Heart, dreamed of the evil Midas twin that had threatened to take her life, dreamed that the sun would never return and she should be shrouded in darkness for all of her life. She dreamed, and in those hours, it was her reality.

Come each morning, the dreams flitted away, but Kahlua could never forget the pure and unadulterated horror she had felt at the sight of the giant lizard. Little did she know a new horror was to be added to her nightly terrors- the sight of a friend throwing herself from a cliff over and over again, a never-ending loop of death that would plague the girl's soul. Simple as she was, this is what she thought of as the sun grew ever close to the tops of the trees. Soon it would touch the horizon and she would be in the dark once again. It was, therefore, that she sighed audibly in relief as she heard the distant sound of flapping wings, then their drawing closer, and finally found the large warrior landing before her.

Instantly, a smile grew on her face. Without any effort on her own part, for the girl was often too childish to hold on to any emotion for an extended amount of time, her fears of the dark were washed away. As he spoke her name, she lowered her own head in return. “Kaj, my friend,” her voice danced with joy, just enjoying his presence for the moment. She did not notice any sort of sadness on him. In much the same way that she felt her own emotions so fleetingly, she had difficulty picking up on the feelings of others around her. She was a simple soul, and in some ways she knew it, but she often felt it was better to be this way. There were so many troubled souls in the land. Wasn't it better, just to be happy?

At his question, she smiled and spoke again. “Of course. I simply wanted to relay some information,” her own blue eyes searched for his and she paused for a moment. She was suddenly remembering that he had called Aaron foolish for thinking to travel to the Foothills. Would he have the same chastising words for her? She flicked her tail in confusion, but as she was not one to hide things, she simply began speaking again. “I had gone to visit a friend at... at the Foothills. He was not there, but I did learn something.” Her ears drooped sideways just a little, waiting for some sort of harshness to come from the stallion's mouth, but she continued on nevertheless. “It seems they have given up their mercenary lifestyle, though I was not allowed to stay and inquire further.” It was all she had. She had not been informed of the leadership change.

Quite suddenly, then, she hurried on, her voice taking on a new and more excited quality. She had hardly given him time to answer her. Had any other act so, it would have seemed that they were trying to change the subject and hurry up to a new one. It was not exactly the mare's intent, she did not plan things so well. It really was heartfelt excitement that had rushed her past the previous words. “Also... I have a gift for you! It will only take a little while!” Looking the sun, Kahlua pursed her lips in annoyance as the beginnings of fear began to trickle back into her heart. She knew the sun would be set before she had finished her project, but she could not have done this without the stallion before her. She needed to know his size.

Not waiting for his acceptance or denial of her gift, Kahlua closed her eyes and pictured the object she had been planning and improving upon for the last few days. Opening them only long enough to eye the stallion for size, she closed her eyes again and imagined the object upon him. Yes... it would be perfect, she decided. At least, if she was not good at thinking or feeling, she had been gifted with the ability to imagine things easily in her mind. Calling upon the mists that had increased with the slowly approaching evening, tendrils began to weave together and solidify into glass. They twisted amongst one another, in and out, obeying her every whim and will as she opened her eyes to watch her work. As she did so, she called upon the goddess of the moon and the mists in her mind. Let this glass be strong, that it will not shatter at the touch of hooves, she commanded it, and the glass would obey. Minutes passed, then an hour or more. Finally, the thing was complete and before it was completed, Kahlua directed it to slip over Kaj's head, if he did not move before it got to him. It was a chainmail neck wrap, tapering from wide near his shoulders to narrow at his neck. It had no straps to hold it in place, the width of his neck simply kept it from falling down too far. It would be easy to slip on and off when it was not necessary for battle. Looking to him for approval then, weariness settling into her bones, she smiled. “I hope you like it!” Even the darkness that had fallen upon them did not worry her now, as she looked to her Wing Leader and awaited his answer.


OOC| If anyone's watching, time line warp was with Brit's permission. I don't really have any inspiration pictures for the neck wrap. It's basically a funnel that is wide near his shoulders and narrow at the top of his neck, made of glass that is tempered not to break during battle. If you'd like a picture, I can try and find one. I hope you like it!!

To greet him a genuine curl of her lips is his gift, and his own only brightens in return. His negative emotions and stress melt away seeing such a happy, sincere reaction to his mere presence. He is still important and loved, his brethren still meet him with open arms and happy smiles, and for now...for now that is more than enough. Dark rose light cascades through the dry branches to rest upon Kahlua's canvas, her ivory portions blushing as if embarrassed and flustered by the fading warmth's attentions. Dark tiara leans towards the earth as his had, though there is no need for the motion, she need not bow her head to him. He does his own out of respect, gentlemanly habits, and does not expect it in return and will not force it of her. But her lyrics are warm and joyous, declaring him friend, and his heart warms. It sends tendrils of comfort down his spine, dancing like static electricity over the tips of his feathers, contagious. This is what he had been missing all this time, stuck in his state of confusion and depression that he had been unable to put a name to for so long.

Blue eyes meet companionably, different shades amiable despite the flickering shadow of doubt in her kindly gaze. Information? Pale aureate ears perk in interest, characteristics turning to a more serious form as he awaits the news of which he is unsure of the kind- good or bad. Her mannerisms shifted, nervous and hesitant, and as she speaks her aurals droop. There is a slight look of disapproving upon his face, but he holds his tongue patiently, thinking over his words wisely. It is in the past, there is nothing he could do to change her actions, and so she did not deserve the full anger as she might have. It was an innocent drive, unlike Aaron's had been, wanting to seek out the Foothills in anger that could have started a second war.

Before he has a chance to answer her she is perking up once more, declaring happily that she has a gift for him, and surprise shows clearly on his face. It is pleasant surprise, because he has never gotten a gift, and it is so touching that his eyes soften and his smile is sheepish and grateful. Kahlua improves his mood so easily, it's hard not to find an excuse to visit her just to bask in her wonderful smile and optimistic outlook on life. It was a wonderful change. Her silent 'stand still' is audible despite the lack of it coming from her lips, and he adjusts his stance to a more appropriate one, offering his body to her to do as she wished.

Immediately it is obvious where she intends to work, and he feels a building weight on his neck, though it is nothing he cannot handle due to the light nature of glass gifted to the crafters of the Edge. It does not take long, as she had assured, and he even manages to close his eyes and relax into the soothing touch of the glass shaping around and against his skin like the gentle caress of the mists. Momentarily she steps away, the process is complete, and he views her gift the best he can from his position. Chainmail, magically strengthened armor, lies upon the arch of his neck flexible, comfortable, but durable. It is...beautiful. Touching.

He loves it.

And he says so, as she declares that she hopes he will like it. "I...It's perfect, Kahlua, I love it!" He is normally not so exuberant, but his smile is the widest it's ever been and he seems to glow all around, inside and out. Before he can think it over he acts on his joy, moving to her shoulder to drape a wing over her spine and curl cheek over her neck to hug her close the best he can. Dancing away again, he cannot find the strength to stop smiling. "Thank you, Kahlua, I will treasure it forever. I have never received a gift before. I cannot thank you enough." He is so caught up in his happiness that he nearly forgets about her confession, the information she had brought to him so trustingly.

Forcing himself to make a more serious face, he reaches the tips of his wing towards her shoulder in hopes of touching her. "You were motivated by love and friendship, Kahlua. That cannot be condemned. You have given us valuable information, thank you for that. I only wish you could have asked for an escort, we cannot have such a valuable member prone, do you understand?" It is gentle, but stern, far from yelling or any kind of anger. Sighing he shakes his crown, a smile twitching unbidden at his lips despite how much he tries when the gift upon his neck moves with him.

"If you wish, I will come with you myself next time you wish to visit. Perhaps we can amend things with them now," he rumbles happily, remembering his friend Apollo from said lands. "I do hope your friend is well, though. Thank you, Kahlua, this information is quite useful!" He accompanies the reprimand with his kindness, not wanting to see her face crumple any more than he needed to. Kaj truly wished she would have been, and would in the future be, more careful. However there was nothing he could do, except wait and hope she did not do it again, for he may have to punish her by then. But for now he is glowing like a miniature sun, the gift having made him so deliriously happy that for now he will move on past the reprimand he had given her.

The stallion's look was disapproving at best but Kahlua was nearly useless at reading expressions. For the moment, she was stuck in her imagined limbo between pleasing the WingLeader, now her equal, and disappointing him to no end. Still, as she had given him no chance, he had no words for her and she was able to go on pretending everything would be alright. The smile that lit his face when she mentioned a gift was infectious, forcing one upon her own face. She practically radiated pleasure. She really did feed off the presence and happiness of others, and it made the work go all the faster.

Had she been more observant, she would have taken in and noted the diligent stance the stallion took for the entirety of her work. She was a soldier through and through, it was easy to see. His attention was commendable and any of the horses in the Edge would have been proud to call him general in that very moment. The way the chain links accented his neck as it was finally finished, resting there upon his crest, Kahlua even found the stallion handsome, though she was not very prone to thinking such things. If she ever did think such words, she rarely meant them in more than a passing sort of way. This was more than that. He looked regal and it could not be ignored.

For a moment, at the thoughts of handsome stallions, her mind slipped back to Skywalker. Their meeting had been happenstance at best, but Kahlua thought that at least some of it must have been the work of the gods. After all, had she not found her amulet the very day she had met the stallion? And had they not traveled to the Veins of the Gods together, bowing before the shrines that honored the deities? She had felt so at ease with the stallion despite his initially unnerving attitude. For a moment she wondered if she would see him again, though the thought was quickly followed by another. Why did she want to see him again? It was not a question she usually asked herself. Was there something more between them? The thought confused her more than gave her peace, especially because he was an outcasts of the wilds and she immediately tried to shove it to the back of her mind. Now was not the time.... never was the time. Plans of building a wall were in place to keep others out, weren't they?

The WingLeader's drew her from her confused mind and she almost immediately returned to her happily glowing state. I love it, was all she needed to hear from him to bound forward and close the gap between them. The stallion seemed to have the same thought, because at the same moment he moved to place his wing over her back and curl his neck around her own. She had never been beneath the wing of a pegasus but she had to admit that the feeling was not altogether unwelcome. “I'm so glad,” she managed, allowing herself the pleasure of snuggling close to him for a moment. She sighed as he moved away, trying to hold onto the feeling of the closeness for just a moment longer.

At his confession that he had never received a gift, Kahlua was dumbfounded. It escaped her, as it so often did, that most were not as giving as she was. The world here was strange, the horses so troubled. Before she could scramble together some coherent words in her head, Kaj was speaking again. You were motivated by love and friendship, he started and her smile faded somewhat. So he had not forgotten about the other information she had given. One ear remained perked towards him, the other fell down sideways again, displaying her confusion as evidently as possible. At least his words were kind enough; though, she doubted she would be upset at the large soldier even if he did choose to chastise her.

“I understand,” she said with a smile, then in jest and because she did not want there to be tension she added with a laugh, “Sir!” At his next comment, she nearly danced. The thought of traveling with the stallion was an exciting concept to her. Besides, she already had plans in her head of going back. She was going to make each herd a gift, even the terrible unicorns of the Basin, in a show of peace and friendship. Giving to make others happy was all she knew. Perhaps it would keep the wrath of the Basin at bay. At least, she hoped so. Taking his advice to heart, Kahlua reminded herself that she would have to ask for a guard upon delivery of each of the items.

“You're welcome,” she said finally, when he had done speaking, bobbing her head, quite pleased with herself that she should prove useful without even trying. “I may very well need your help in the future,” she added a moment later, going on to explain that she wanted to make each herd a statue as an offering of peace. She did not mention their shapes as she did not yet know what they would be. Her eyes searched his for a moment, seeking approval or disapproval for the idea. She also wanted him to know that she had taken his mention of a guard seriously. Then, after a moment, she spoke again. “Who leads the Foothills?” She was curious that they should have had such a change of heart. It did not occur to her that the leadership would have changed entirely. A few humming notes filled the air as she watched his smile. It did wonders to her soul to see him happy. It was a shame that she could not bottle this moment, for in the days to come she would not know the feeling. “You seem too kind to be a warrior,” she said then with a gentle laugh, her words skipping between ideas much the way her addled brain did. The idea of Kaj as a ferocious protector was strange to her.