There is trouble at the wall.

Kaj is above, where none of the three can reach him, coasting along the airways pleasantly. It is so nice, up there where nobody can bother him, where he doesn't have to remember that yes, he is an outsider who is welcomed like a brother. He doesn't want to have to touch down and be troubled with their language, he doesn't want to miss Onni's soft, smiling face, and he doesn't want to remember how lost he is here. He loves the Edge, it is in his blood, has been since he first laid eyes upon it. But how can he live in a herd that has become so complacent since the wall was erected? Regardless, it seems there is no complacency now, for the hostility seems to increase as he hovers there in uncertainty. Lace and Kahlua are welcome, familiar sights to his eyes. Should he not trust them to handle this? But as much as he loves and respects them, though the emotions separate depending on whom is being spoken of, it just seems...wrong. Something is twisting in his gut, and his heart tells him he must intervene. It is harassment, even if he does not know it for sure.

Dipping his wings he is plummeting, and in the dark whisper in the back of his head, he wonders what would happen if he just...didn't open them again. Shaking them away he lands with a soft whisper, far back from the trio and advancing on foot. He remains in the mists, listening, silent. And anger swells inside, listening to how they treat this visitor, and when the stag's bonded is harmed...Kaj can stand it no longer. He explodes like a hurricane from the cover of the trees, face like a thunderstorm, and eyes of lightning. "STOP THIS!" It is a roar, the lion inside rising to its mantle with claws scraping brimstone, ready to defend with royal blood and mighty crown.

He swivels as he advances, shielding Torleik with his body shall the stag not move, and he feels his heart break that, once again, he is rising against his family. Tail lashes angrily against his hocks, nostrils flaring and shining vibrant red in the cold air. "What have we become?! Attacking innocent blood, treating someone this way when they are visiting peacefully?! Your discrimination against those who have horns is as despicable and guilty as the racism of the majority!" His insides quiver, because oh god what is he doing, his mouth is running away from him, but like hell he can stop it now. Oh fuck, please let this be worth it, he prays. Is he risking everything by telling them what he thinks? Perhaps. Kaj is unaware of the title Lace now holds, after all. But how can he face them like this, so disgusted in their behavior, when he is supposed to be on their side? He doesn't want to look at Kahlua, see how she responds, because she is so dear to him...but this is simply not the Kahlua he knows, the kind one with a heart of gold and the patience of a saint. This is...someone completely different, and it hurts him to see her so cruel and unforgiving.

Turning so that he may view them both, Torleik on his right and the other two on his left, worried cerulean eyes sway to the horned stag. "Friend, if I may call you so without angering you...please tell me, is your precious one hurt? If I have to give up my title, by the Gods I will so long as she is healed. I know of a friend, in the sunny valley of the south, she may help as well." His heart is breaking, crumbling, turning into dust and diamonds scattered across the floor of his cavernous chest. Where he hailed from, bonded animals- or dierbaren, as they were called in his homeland- were sacred and precious in ways that were insurmountable. They were equivalent to a newborn foal of royal blood, or a minor God. To see Torleik's griffin treated such, especially when his or her youth was obvious...to him, it was a sign of betrayal, regardless of alliances and races.

Sighing he looks at Lace and Kahlua, the static electricity of his eyes sparking wildly in his anger, of no godly gift, but made of the pure mortal sin called emotion. "This man has done nothing to deserve this treatment! He has come with a kind eye and curious word, and Kahlua, you should be proud he is so interested in your creation!" It is spat, like a cobra, to rest on the ground between them. Is his inability to understand their behavior obvious? He pleads to the Gods that it is, because he loves them beyond measure, but his morals will not allow this kind of interaction. "If he is so new here, how could he have created such bad blood? Will you condemn him, merely because he is a unicorn, and maybe from the Auroras? Your hatred is as blind as the ones who tried to take our home from us. Are we really so low as to be just as racist?" Scoffing he growls beneath his breath and tries to unpinch his brow when he turns it towards the nameless face once more.

"I am sorry for how you have been treated...there is no excuse. Even if you are of the Lights, you have come with no ill intentions...had our clans still held bad blood and hatred, you should not have been condemned for hailing from there. After all, there is surely something in your home to love, yes? We all have choices to make." His throat wobbles as he swallows, wondering if this is his ultimatum. His defining moment. He hopes not, he has so much left to say. To Mirage, and Kahlua, and oh god Resplendence...but his heart is firm. Kaj has always listened acutely to the soft whispers of that delicate organ, for it always spoke the truth, even if it was not always the choice that was considered correct. Matters of the heart were always far more accurate and trustworthy than the tempest of the mind.

"As for an explanation...I can only speculate, broer. The Auroras invaded, last season. We were triumphant, but the hatred has spread like disease. It is not so hard to understand, is it? We are mortal, we are full of sin. We fall to racism when we once advocated against it. We have lost much...the blood spilt between the Ocean dwellers and the Snow is black and foul...I fear...I fear that we will never reach an end, broer." His voice is soft, defeated, and his head is low, dejected. Running to the defense of someone who may have been in the hoard that had attempted to take his home...it was risky. But...somehow, he could not bring himself to regret his decision to speak out.

Lords of the Wilds, save his soul.

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Translations:
Broer - Brother
Dierbaren - Precious Ones

Hope it's okay I jumped in! I have lots of Kaj muse! :D And he needs to stir up some stuff~!