The beast dodged like a graceful black nightmare, twisting to avoid his child's hooves, the macabre dance burned onto his retina—down, a new target, his shout, and time froze. Wonder painted the edges of his world with crystal clarity, and for a moment he felt like he'd somehow left this world behind, as if he could simply keep running while nothing else moved. The dark monster was slipping through Psyche's guard, teeth glistening wet with saliva.. but they never closed around her. Fur rustled as time sped up and the creature slipped out of range again, eyes blood-bright and lit with a flame from within. "Faðir," Snö said, and Mauja's eyes widened; his hoof clipped the edge of a root and he stumbled, snapping up into a high-kneed trot instead. But in the heat of the moment, the roar of his heart drowned it out. There were more important things, survival at the forefront of his mind, a heat in his throat.

Coincidence or command, but the dog didn't seem as intent to kill them this instant. With perked ears it trotted between the white unicorn and the rest of his first family, seeming to weigh the odds. Mauja clenched his jaw. One beast, three unicorns. They could do this.

"Thais!" Snö had stepped to stand beside her mother, instead of shielded behind her. Mauja, still maybe fifteen yards away, felt his ears stir in his mane. Thais? Wasn't that what she'd called his dumb pet maniac? But this.. this was a dog. His monster had died anyway, crushed in the ashes of the Edge. He could still recall the noise, accompanied by the fine sensation of utter agony. And the defeat. That damned defeat. "No drip, drop!" She was serious. She was serious about this being his leashed murderer; he lowered his head, still moving. Maybe.. maybe those eyes were the same? The same glow, like lava? And was that a dirty rope bound around his neck? It had no end dangling down, not visible against the shaggy fur at least. Maybe... Maybe it was worth a shot.

"Mauja," Psyche suddenly (or at least, it felt like a sudden thing) said. "It's been a while, darling." I'm not your darling anymore.

He'd never been, not really. Maybe he could've been—oh, it'd all been there, the foundation before Snö had even seen the world... He'd been there, she'd been there, and something could've happened. Something could've grown in the frigid ground of his glacial heart.. but that seed died before the sun could touch it. He was tired of pretending, too riled up to hear the normalcy of her voice; just flicked her a glance before honing in on the dog again. It wasn't that he wanted to be "the man" and protect his family—if they needed to put a dog down, Psyche and Snö were more than capable of doing it without his help. It was just.. he cared, and if his daughter hadn't gone entirely crazy, he would be capable of stopping this calamity.

"Oi, skrímslið minn," he breathed, fluid motion coming to a halt; tail high and neck high he stared at the beast. He seemed.. anxious, or maybe just uncertain of how to best tackle the situation. Or maybe he was just reading the body language wrong. He'd never spent much time around canines of any kind. In fact, ever since Osiris jumped him, they'd fallen pretty low on his list of "enjoyable things", with a few exceptions. Like Aramis. Mauja narrowed his eyes. He couldn't trust the creature to remember him, even if it somehow, miraculously, was the same. "Come here," he commanded it while slowly approaching, eyes trained upon its shady form; any sudden movement his way and he was ready to block, or bolt. Wolves had sharp teeth. He knew that. And he knew to be careful. Breathing shallowly, senses heightened with adrenaline, he padded closer, and whether or not the dog came to him he'd try to nuzzle its scruff, teeth looking for the rope collar—to bind the monster to the master once more.

[ douche, stop ignoring psyche <.< ]

Mauja Frosthjärta