Sunlight, moonlight...

Sometimes he wondered if there was a kind of sixth sense bestowed upon leaders - an innate knowledge of things that transpired within the borders of his home, a nagging sense guiding his hooves in the direction where they were wanted or needed. Trespassers, newcomers, lonely family members - somehow, he found a lot of them, simply by following his intuition, and the faint scents the wind sometimes brushed against his nostrils. Sometimes it brought voices, too, whispered words, and at times it felt like it was the Moon herself blowing them his way, speaking them gently into his ears to make sure he heard them. And now, it whispered a gentle query, a hesitant summons, to him, and he felt his eyes slowly open to the world. Warm golden sunlight filtered down through the trees, gently playing across his face and back as the leaves rustled with the wind. The sun was dropping towards the horizon, and he knew that soon the gold would turn to orange, and then to red, until finally that hated disc sunk and left the sky purple. Mauja blinked, clawing his way from the confines of sleep and into the world. Birds sang, and if he strained, he could hear the deep, distant crash of waves upon the edge's base. A fond smile played across his lips, and he pushed his poll upwards, stretching out the muscles in his neck. With a grunt he relaxed again, and stretched all legs as he slowly began to walk forward. It was nothing like waking up to your home on a beautiful afternoon, now that the heat had begun to dissipate. It left the shadows pleasantly cool, and with a snort he shook his head and headed in the direction of the borders.

He drifted easily through the trees, accompanied by the mist that swirled around his frosted hooves. Today it wasn't all that thick, and a lingering warmth in the air told the story of a fairly hot day. He was glad to have slept most of it away, or spent it grazing in the shadows. It would return to night, thickening to fog at dawn - he could feel it in his bones, the certainty that the Moon would start to sweep in with frost soon, to blanket the world in tiny, beautiful crystals that shimmered in the dawn light. There was nothing quite as beautiful as frost.

Pale like a wraith with her mane and tail dipped in red she stood upon his borders, peering at the forest, looking for him no doubt. After all, her gentle, chiming voice had born his name, and he was not quite sure what he felt about that. He knew her name now - Ophelia - and her hellish sister was Ktulu. She'd shut off his air, and it had been an entirely new and not too pleasant experience for the stoic king. That memory was unpleasant, but witnessing Deimos work his powers had been.. enlightening, if nothing else. For now, though, he chose to not reveal that he knew of her little brothers, or her name, even though it certainly was inviting to greet her by it just to watch her face. Why she was back he couldn't fathom, but as long as she didn't bring her devil sister of choke him to death he was okay with entertaining her. Just in case he drew in the air deep, sampling it for signs of Ktulu, but he found none. As satisfied as he could be with it he walked silently towards the white mare, peering at her with open curiosity. Sunlight sparkled in the frost upon his horn and lightened his spotted coat further, giving him a gleam similar to her own. She was quite beautiful - if only her heart would lay in the right place... But he was fairly certain it didn't. "Hello again," he told her in a voice laced with curiosity, a faint smile upon his face - soft, gentle, not at all mocking. Why greet her with jeers and anger, and remind her of that moment? "I'm glad you stayed on the border this time. It makes my life a lot less complicated." Mauja's head tilted to the side, his long forelock sliding off his forehead. "What do you want?" Despite the wording, his voice carried a slight hint of warmth, and that seemingly ever-present curiosity.

Above all things, curiosity was one of the largest forces driving Mauja forward through life.

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