"Stormcloud angry."

Evangeline was puzzled over what Tallis was telling her. She didn't know anyone that went by the title 'Stormcloud' or anyone that went by the name 'Stormcloud'. Whoever Tallis was referring to made their home in the Edge, she knew, because he didn't venture very far on his own and there had been a certain level of tension in the once peaceful mists. That tension had driven her from the herd land and into the welcoming embrace of the grove and its willows. The low hanging branches served as a protective bubble for Eva. She could hide, obscured by the branches and just let the world go on without her for a couple of days or until she felt like joining.

"What are you talking about?" She finally asked the dragon who just shook his head. "Stormcloud angry. Blood mare angry. Silly queen sad." Eva blinked as the dragon added more players to the game but didn't tell her what had happened to make them angry and sad. "Blood mare?" She asked and in response an image of a golden mare with red hair flickered into her mind. "I don't know who that is." She said with a frown. "Shimmer butt mess up. Attack Falls." That made Evangeline's ears tilt back against her head and disgust rise like bile in her throat. "Show me." She instructed Tallis.

What she was shown was hazy at best, but she could see the blood mare that Tallis had shown her before, Kahlua, Kaj, and a white and gold mare. Their mouths were moving as if they were speaking but Tallis could relay no words to her. Obviously whatever altercation had taken place had warranted quite the crowd to knock at their doorstep to return the fool that had attacked.

"What reason did she have?" Evangeline asked even though she knew that Tallis wouldn't be able to answer her. "It couldn't have been a good reason. They've never done anything to us..." Tallis shook his head in a display that mirrored his bonded's disgust and disappointment. "More racism?" She mused as she thought back. She certainly hoped that it wasn't the case, but she didn't know anyone involved aside from Kaj and Kahlua.

Evangeline.

Tallis had been a welcomed addition to the overly full, increasingly hare-brained and dramatic confrontation at the Edge borders. The King and his Philosopher had met infrequently, most notably when she came to his side in defense of his claims against Lace's blatant racism against Torleik. She was a soothing presence, a brilliant mind with a fluid tongue and a strong, kind heart. Having her there, even if only in the form of her draconian bonded, had helped steel and comfort him simultaneously. But his shoulders were weary and his mind frazzled, frayed and ripping as his seams began to stretch and protest against the abuse. He had taken on so much, a weight even he could not stand beneath forever. Over time he had watched Kahlua take her respites from the Edge, watched her disappear over the borders with a resigned understanding. He'd never allowed himself to acknowledge the envy that was harbored directly below it.

So much waited for him in the Edge, tasks he would have to tackle alone for the sake of the Queen who was helpless in their mazelike complexities. He adored Kahlua, with her fragility and naivety so unlike the maidens he had been reared to respect and fear equally. Was that what drew him to her? Even after his rather enlightening encounter with Quilyan, he suffered through his emotions concerning the painted lass, and it caused the honorable King more grief than he cared to admit to. Resplendence would be cared for by her knightly mate, he would allow them their moment of peace while he brokenly sought out his own.

So he turned away from the borders he had crossed, chest tight at the foreign sight, gazing in from the outside. Lifted his wings and embraced the zephyr that guided him higher, brought his hooves to kiss and then depart from the dry earth below. For a countless amount of wingbeats he was alone, rocking gently on winds too subtle to force him to fight against them. And if he glimpsed a small figure of orange...he was too downtrodden to judge himself for gliding towards it. Hoping in a dark and sorrowful corner of his lonely, broken heart that it was Tallis he was following.

One of the Gods must have glanced down from their thrones and waved their trail of magic before him, guiding him onward to the solace he needed, for his hope had suddenly become reality.

Evangeline was an auburn fire beneath the early summer rays, a rose among daisies, glaringly obvious surrounded by the emeralds and blues of the Grove. Relief sagged shoulders all believed to be flawlessly strong, relief a searing knife driven into his belly and dragged agonizingly through his flesh with the reminder that he had finally reached his limit. He had failed.

His descent was slow, barely a whisper resounding from a landing that was generally disruptively loud. As he approached the beautiful, wise mare he surely must have looked a sight. Sagging shoulders, downcast honey face, limply held appendages and weakly placed hooves. But even in the midst of his downfall, Kaj managed a smile, a beautifully but painfully sincere smile curling his lips almost shyly. There was no need to hide behind facades when it came to Evangeline. The Storm Bringer suspected she would see through him anyways, if he dared to try.

"Evangeline."

Her name slipped off his tongue like molasses, sweet and slow and thick with all the words he couldn't say. He was a man close to breaking, seeking solace with a fellow traveled soul in hopes of perhaps fixing himself enough to be the hero everyone always seemed to expect him to be. "May I...perhaps join you? I'm afraid...I'm afraid that I am...out of sorts? Is that the phrase?" His humor was weak and watery at best, the laughter that accompanied the words similar. Blue eyes turned to her, trying to get her to understand, to help him from where he had stumbled from the pedestal everyone had placed him on, concealing bleeding knees and skinned palms. He could not find the words to tell her that he needed her.

The sound of fluttering wings drove Evangeline back into the welcoming embrace of one of the grove's many willow trees. She hoped that she hadn't been noticed by whoever had been flying over because part of the reason she'd gone to the grove was to be alone. Her hope proved to be for naught as the sound of wings beating against the air became more frequent before suddenly stopping. Then came the sound of hooves against the ground and that made Evangeline move forward to peer out from behind the drooping branches of the willow.

"Kaj?" She said his name shortly after he said her own. She pushed past the branches and stepped out, a frown marring her features as she looked upon her king's face. Something was wrong, she could see it in his face and eyes and the way he carried himself. "Stormcloud..." Came the dragon's quiet voice, making Eva's eyes widen in realization. "Stormcloud angry." She whispered to herself as she looked up at the dragon perched in the willow. Tallis nodded his head and suddenly more images filled her mind of the recent events in the Edge. Just as before there were no voices but the imagery was enough for Eva.

"Of course." The Philosopher answered as her king asked to join her. She turned and slipped back into the embrace of the willow then turned back toward Kaj. For a long moment she studied his face, looking for any trace of anger but all she saw was exhaustion. "Being a leader is tough." She murmured. "Being responsible for the actions of so many is not an easy task to manage. Especially when you have fools among your ranks." She poked at the subject of what Tallis had showed her without directly asking Kaj what had happened. If he felt the need to discuss it with her then she would listen. Instead she offered understanding for what he was feeling having felt similarly when she led the Woodlands in Isilme. It seemed toward the end she was often apologizing for the shortsightedness of her other half. For as much as she adored Roanne and his friendship he had turned into a fool.

"You look tired." Evangeline was concerned for him. He had not been leader for very long and the weight of it was already wearing him down and grinding him into the dirt. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Upon his arrival she disappears into the long shadows of the willow behind her, dark shades of monochrome concealing the color of her bodice. He contemplates removing himself before he speaks a word to her, her body language clearly stating she had intended to be in solitude, but his dark walkers have already touched down onto the grassy knoll of the Grove below. There is no logic in turning away so soon, perhaps he could explain away his arrival and cool himself in the waters he knew were not far. Whatever he chooses to do is bypassed by the soft words that depart from his maw before he can catch them, a bump in his plan to leave her to her search for peace. Had he forgotten, though, how forgiving the chestnut mistress could be?

His name leaves her tongue in a query, as if wondering why he was free of the borders and on a land other than their home terrain. She turns, eyes glancing at him over her shoulder briefly as she glides back into the shadows of the willow. It is an invitation long before she deigns to speak the two words he had hoped would fall from her lips. A soft sigh of appreciation dips low and relieved from his own as he follows her, exhausted in every way he could comprehend and yet never feeling as if he could give up on the position he held. Until he was forcefully removed from his duties, the golden lad would not let his herd fall to shambles. Even if it was at the cost of his own well-being at times.

Her eyes search his face and he lets her, unsure what she is looking for but hiding nothing from her regardless. Whatever she finds, it parts her lips to speak, and with every soft intonation that flows so naturally through her lyrics the King found himself relaxing. Her presence had always calmed and secured him, and he was grateful that he had chosen her to visit with when he most needed such centering. A frown pulled at his burnished gold lips, thoughtful but grim. "Even more so when the one you are to work with for the better of those many citizens is among the list." It is a soft confession, a touch bitter, but resigned. Long ago he had realized there was little he could do to change Kahlua, and he would not force her to. Crown shakes and a weak laugh escapes the hold of his lips. "Not that anything is made easier when those you trusted and appointed to positions of importance stab you in the back without a second thought." Or even a first thought, he thinks bitterly towards the pale gilded Seer.

"You look tired."

A smile pulls on his lips and he tries to hide the fatigue, if only for her sake. "I will never tire of my desire to guide and protect my kin. But I am exhausted, Evangeline." Voice dips and seriousness bleeds into his tone, nearly defeated. "I am tired of holding a load meant for two upon only one set of shoulders. I am tired of sleepless nights and constant action to keep things running smoothly, to appear within moments when I am needed and finding no respite through my partner." Abruptly he ends his words, sighing softly. He had been growing more passionate, more betrayed and angered as he had continued speaking, and he was unsure how Evangeline would take her King speaking of her Queen in such a manner. "Tallis was at the gathering. I assume you know at least some of what has transpired?" The darkness shrouded his eyes momentarily with disgust and anger towards the foolish girl, but he would never poison Evangeline's understanding aura with his own negative emotions. For a few moments he merely says nothing; breathes and lets the feelings wash away from his bones.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

This time around, Kaj's smile was sincere and easy, erasing a majority of the exhausted lines on his handsome face. "Merely being in your presence and speaking with you is calming, my dear. You aid me merely by caring to listen." He didn't think even those words could explain his gratitude towards her, his admiration of her inherent gift to calm and soothe all kinds of frazzled nerves. It was why he had sought her out first. To that moment, there was nothing to regret in that decision.

Kaj's response came as a bit of a shock to Evangeline because she had not meant to insinuate that the queen was a fool. He was putting words in her mouth and as the initial shock wore off Eva frowned. "I was not referring to her." She said pointedly. Even if she did not think that Kahlua was all there mentally at times she would not badmouth one leader to the other. She had never been one to talk about someone she knew personally behind their backs. Usually if she had a problem with them she would tell them face to face and let them deal with it how they would. "Shimmerbutt." Tallis interjected and Eva nodded her head. She had been the one Eva had referred to as a fool. From what she had been able to gather from the images Tallis had shown her and the handful of words he had muttered, she was the one that had attacked the Falls and drew so many to their doorstep.

The king mentioned backstabbing and Eva made a mental note to question him about it once he had answered her other questions. "Exhaustion and leadership tend to go hand in hand." The mare said, knowing all too well the burden that he carried on his shoulders. She could not help the wry grin that curled her lips as Kaj spoke what she had felt what seemed to be a lifetime ago. "I can relate." She said. "I lead a herd in my homeland, Isilme. I served as the diplomatic lead and my partner was the military leader. Toward the end I was constantly going behind him and cleaning up his messes." He had been so blinded by the looks of a pretty mare that he failed to see just how evil she was. He allowed her into their ranks and they all suffered because of it. "Its not wise to hold your feelings to yourself. You need to confide in Kahlua, urge her to take more control and step into the role that she was given instead of doing it for her." Her gaze was unwavering as she looked at Kaj. "If you continue to protect her others will only see her as weak and challenge her for power. You won't be able to protect her then."

Evangeline had known for a long time while she led her own herd that anyone could challenge her at any time. She was the weaker of the pair, not having a lick of fighting experience, but she had been an active leader. She had forged alliances, cleaned up messes, encouraged education in her herd and they had flourished. Now as she continued to live among the group she was living with she wanted them to flourish as well.

"Tallis was at the gathering. I assume you know at least some of what has transpired?"

"I only saw what Tallis showed me." Evangeline replied. She had seen enough to make her uncomfortable and slightly worried. "What is her name? Tallis showed her to me, the white and gold mare that he calls 'Shimmerbutt'." Her tail flicked and she shifted her weight in mild discomfort at what she would find out from the king. "He said she attacked the Falls. Is it true?"

Embarrassment creeps along his features as his ears fall sideways at the misunderstanding between the two of them. Laughing nearly soundlessly as he tried not to feel ashamed for actions he did not regret and words he couldn't take back. "Apologies, miss Evangeline. You misunderstand me. I am aware of whom you speak. Merely...have too much on my mind? I expanded without clarity that I was changing whom you mentioned." Head bowed briefly in a chivalrous display of apology towards her, pale threads nearly glowing in the lifted rays that shone through the intricate webbing of the shadows from the willow. Pale azure eyes lifted alongside his crown, observing her quietly. Sometimes he wished to be able to read her thoughts, but it was an invasion of privacy he was too horrified to truly desire. Kaj knew the importance of the mind, and the walls that protected it from others. As enigmatic as the mare was to him, he would never wish to read her private thoughts and musings; he respected her far too much to degrade her, to control her in such a way. To him, she represented freedom and control, wisdom and grace. An untouchable, elegant mirage that graciously granted him the right to speak with her and indulge in her presence. All his years he had been raised to respect those with mystical power, those with strength of spirit and magic; in Helovia he had learned to respect the other spectrum inhabitants, the peaceful and the naive, the hot-headed and the plain. Yet Kaj had never respected and revered any of them as much as Evangeline. She was strength and peace, valor and humility, and he wished more would follow her example; perhaps the world would be a better place, even if peace could never be permanently achieved.

It is her voice resounding in his aurels that breaks him from his thoughts, irony strong in the fact that they had been of her. Had she witnessed such thoughts, would she misunderstand? Would she assume he held for her romantic affections, when in fact he merely regarded her in the highest possible esteem he was capable of? His own views of himself were not particularly high; was it even that much of an honor? Idly he nods his head in agreement to her words, for while he would never choose another path aside leading the Edge, it certainly cultivated exhaustion inside of him like a well-furrowed field in great need of fallow. His eyes found her and he frowned softly. "Then you must know the frustration and helplessness I feel. Let us hope that your story will not be replicated forever." Whether that would end with Kahlua's rule (something he dreaded to envision) or with Kahlua changing (something he doubted would happen), it didn't matter to the spun-gold stallion.

He is not so proud and arrogant as to tune out the advice she gives. It may be a subtle chastisement for his words, but he takes it humbly. Swirls it in his mind, touches every nook and cranny with tendrils of thought, before he so much as dares to speak. Hopefully the knowledgeable lass would appreciate this display of respect to her words, that he was taking the time to carefully construct a response she was actually worthy of. "Kahlua's heart is pure and placed in the right spot. Her intentions are overwhelmingly good. However she does not dwell on words and complex or serious matters...I fear that, as always, she will not take to heart what I attempt to confide in her."

Staring at the ground he pursed his lips softly, brow drawn close and furrowed in thought. Kahlua's soft features spring to mind, a reminder of the guilt and betrayal he feels, even when he has done nothing but spill his deeply rooted thoughts and fears to a well-trusted friend. Though, would Evangeline even hold him in similar regard? Or was he merely King to her? A memory of encountered racism and badly made first impressions? "I urge her to stay. To be Queen and do her duties. She stays but is miserable, evades all that does not require friendly chatter, and looks to me always for decisions." Though at times he envied her for her light-heartedness and her freedom, he could not help but grow more frustrated with her each time he shouldered another job meant for her own duties.

"She is fragile. Where I come from, Evangeline, mares were the power and royalty. Stallions were their protectors, only useful when the magic that made them so dangerous waned with their energy and we stepped forth to shield them bodily. We were merely there to deflect and defend, to die for these female warriors far better than us. Kahlua is different in every fashion...I had desired to protect her out of my own will, instead of under threat of death or exile." It is the first time he has spoken at all of his homeland to anyone, and it is tentative as it leaves his tongue. What will she think of his matriarchal herd, of his past? Was it even a valid reason for his behavior? "I was wrong, to desire to protect her. But even when I try to step back every new morn, she clings to me ever stronger. Is it wrong of me to not want to push upon her responsibilities, ones I know will go mostly unheeded, and let our brethren fall to shambles because of her childish mindset?"

Fierceness creeps into his vocals, though not directed at Evangeline. Even the thought of the Edge falling into ruin makes him passionate, makes him ever more eager to fight that fate, to make them strong and keep them safe until his lungs could no longer seize air and his heart could no longer beat for their sake. "I am stuck between a...what is the saying? A boulder and a strong place?" He smiles at her, lopsided but genuine, but he does not hide the distress inside due to the topic at hand.

At least the topic changes.

Stone creeps into the glass of his eyes, hardens his gaze as his jaw constricts and bulges as he grinds his teeth at the very recent memory of what had transpired at their borders. But he answers her, for he will never ignore any request made with good intentions. "Her name is Aurelia. Two season cycles young, and with two foals rarely ever alongside her. Kahlua desired her Seer, and I conceded when the Goddess displayed her agreement, believing it would set her on a straighter path." Now, he regretted not choosing another, perhaps even Evangeline herself. When he had mentioned her as a possibility, Kahlua had disregarded it, and Kaj had confusedly kept quiet about it. After all, he had no awareness of the exchanges between the two mares and the subtle animosity Kahlua may possibly harbor for the cinnamon damsel. "It is true. She ran well past their borders and refused to leave, even when allowed peaceful escort and confronted with large numbers peacefully but firmly requesting her departure. When they refused to allow her to stay, she turned hysterical and employed her magic, burning another her age and wounding those around her. They kept her captive briefly, as is in their rights, and returned her to our borders not long ago." Anger is tight and hot on his face, but he tries to keep his tone level, to not return to that same position of outrage and sense of betrayal that had been so prominent during the encounter with the Falls members.

"Her pettiness and idiocy could have caused us war, Evangeline. She could have had us wounded, killed, driven from our homes. Attacked for the countless time! She didn't just put herself in danger, my level of caring is far lower in that account, she attempted to use her rank to her power while simultaneously possibly dooming the herd she is supposed to serve and protect through the Goddess's visions of the future." Tail lashes angrily, curling round an ankle as he attempts to compose himself. But the knife is still aching and sharp in his back, and he feels as if he cannot forgive this transgression. "Excuse my anger, miss Evangeline. I have never felt more betrayed. I entrusted her to a job of import, and in return she nearly made us all relive the hell of invasion." Idly, he wondered how she would react to all this.

Evangeline simply nodded her acceptance of his apology as it fell from his lips. He sounded and looked all the part of being apologetic and it looked strange on a stallion who was supposed to be a strong leader. In her experience strong leaders bowed to no one and apologized to no one even when they were wrong. 'Respects you.' Tallis hummed into her mind. 'That's why.' An ear flicked back toward the dragon and she sighed inaudibly. Perhaps he was right. "Its okay." She finally said. He left her wondering, though, if he felt that way about Kahlua if she was fit to be a leader. But who was she to question the decision of the God that put the Sunshower in charge? There had to be something in her that would make her a good leader, it just hadn't surfaced yet.

"I know it well." She agreed as Kaj spoke of frustration and helplessness. Kaj, however, was quick to dispute her opinion of confiding in Kahlua and trying to make her take more responsibility. "Sometimes you have to be tough to get your point across." Eva said. "You help her a lot don't you?" She didn't wait for him to answer her question because she already suspected that he was at her every beck and call. "Stop." It seemed simple enough. "Stop doing everything for her and make her do for herself. Leadership is not to be taken lightly. She agreed to it and so she must bear the same burden that you do." Not everything was going to sunshine, rainbows, and flowers as it seemed Kahlua wanted it to be. Sooner or later she would see the world for what it was and the ones that inhabited it for what they were. "If she does not take it upon herself to help you, to shoulder some of the weight that comes with being a leader then perhaps she is not cut out for being the Queen of the Edge." The orange mare was trying her hardest to remain unbiased as she spoke, having only had three previous run ins with the queen. The second was the one that stuck with her and she tried to shake it from her mind, but it stuck like a leech. "I just hope that she proves us wrong." Evangeline murmured. She also hoped that leadership didn't taint Kahlua's gentle soul.

As her voice faded Kaj spoke again and Evangeline listened intently as he spoke of his home and his desire to protect Kahlua and how she looked to him for every decision. "Its noble that you want to protect her." she said. "But you cannot protect her from everything. Eventually the baby bird will have to leave the nest and whether she flies or falls is solely on her." When he asked if it was wrong of him not to push responsibilities on Kahlua, Eva answered confidently. "Yes." Her gaze, once more, was unwavering as she stared down the King of the Edge. "You cannot stand here and complain of not having help when you do not push responsibility on the one that is supposed to help you." She was beginning to suspect that she could talk until the end of time and Kaj would still not want to push responsibility on the Queen. It was frustrating.

Tallis' weight settled on Eva's back as the dragon moved from the tree to his bonded. The weight there was short lived as he clambered up her neck to peer at the stallion from between her ears. She smiled as Kaj spoke again then echoed the correct form of what he was trying to say. "A rock and a hard place." She remembered feeling the same way when Ruske had set Roanne on fire. She loved them both and didn't want them fighting but it was inevitable. Only Isilme's destruction had stopped her friends from killing one another.

Finally the conversation shifted to Aurelia or 'Shimmerbutt' as Tallis had taken to calling her. Eva's emerald eyes narrowed minutely as she was told that Kahlua had desired Aurelia to be Seer. The decision had been foolish and she tried to keep her expression from showing her disapproval of the choice. "Wonderful." She said, her voice thick with sarcasm. "So your wise one very nearly started a war." 'Not wise' Tallis' voice was grim and when he snorted a puff of smoke was blown toward Kaj. "What are you going to do with her?" She asked after Kaj had fallen silent again. "Do you desire her to remain Seer?"

In the silence that came about after his apology, Kaj watched the orange damsel's face in hopes of finding some sort of answer. It came in time, and he nodded his appreciation for her acceptance of it. Whatever had been in apparent conflict in her mind had clearly been sorted, and it was not the King's business to pry or demand she tell him what had been bothering her about his apology for speaking out of turn, and vaguely.

A frown drew at his lips, for though her understanding was appreciated, he did not believe she was right in her advice to place more responsibility upon his Queen. It was frustrating to want to trust Evangeline, as he did so implicitly, and yet not want to risk the crumbling of the herd by forcing upon Kahlua more responsibility than she was capable of handling. Sighing softly to try and dispel his internal frustration, not wanting Evangeline to believe it was her he was frustrated with instead of the situation, he tried to communicate exactly that. "I understand what you're saying, Evangeline. I desire to take your advice, but I am blocked by my fear that the herd will crumble if she cannot handle it. I care more for the herd's safety than my patience and trust in her can stretch to accomodate." Feeling as if he were caught in circles, having no real choice, he grit his teeth and clenched his jaw and sighed heavily. "I despise feeling stuck like this. Perhaps in small increments I could introduce Kahlua to more responsibility?"

Laughing softly, bittersweetly, the golden King stared into the distance. "I hope she proves us wrong as well, friend." Was it too soon to call her such? He considered her one, after all. But it may be that she did not hold such fond attachment for him yet, or in as much depth as he claimed. Even when she irritated him, tiny needles of frustration at her declaring him to be complaining, he trusted her judgment. "I would rather complain, and have the herd safe, than any other fate." Whether or not he was a fool or a martyr for believing that, he did not care. He would do anything and everything for his herd, even if it meant keeping their Queen in a padded room with baubles to entertain her and forcing the load of ruling upon his shoulders alone.

Tallis peered at him from between twin orange towers, and his laughter resounded both at the cute positioning and the correction of the idiom. "Ah, sorry. Thank you. I'm still unsure of Helovian phrases." Amusement crinkled the corners of his pale blue eyes. He was assimilating further with every day, but sometimes he was still baffled by the intricacies of Helovian social norms. At least Evangeline was kind and patient enough to correct him so gently, and his appreciation was laced around the amusement of his own incorrect wording as he gazed at her. Truly, the world needed more Evangelines.

More somber with the reintroduction of the topic of Aurelia's mistakes, he frowned heavily and nodded to her sarcasm, aware that he was partially to blame for her appointment to Seer. "If it were up to me, she would be banished for good. What the council decides is another thing. She will never be Seer for me again, however." Voice was hard like rock, unfeeling and determined. Aurelia would never serve on his council again.

There was only so much advice that Evangeline could give and if he refused to take it there wasn't anything that she could do about him besides think him foolish. "Do you trust the Moon Goddess' choice of Queen?" The orange mare asked pointedly. "Perhaps she sees something in Kahlua that you do not, just as she sees something in you." Her emerald eyes narrowed as she stared at the King as he rebutted her advice with more of his concerns and fears. Finally he seemed to come around and Evangeline gave a nod of her head. "Not all at once." She agreed, thinking that if so much responsibility was suddenly thrust on Kahlua she would likely fall over and die. Then where would they be? Kaj would still be stuck with the same amount of work.

He spoke of not wanting the herd to suffer or be put in danger because of incompetence, in essence, and Eva gave a short shrug of her shoulders. "Sometimes when dirt and rock crumbles away you find a valuable gem beneath." Maybe all Kahlua needed was to crumble a little before she found her strength. But she would not crumble and be forced to look inside herself and rely on herself if Kaj kept protecting her from her own duties. He, however, seemed intent on thinking that he was right and Evangeline was wrong and she came to the conclusion that he would shrug off whatever she said on the matter. 'Stormcloud no understand.' Tallis said, effectively reminded her of his failed phrasing moments before. "The Phoenix." She began again. "The Phoenix burns itself upon its pyre, but it rises from the ashes anew." She lifted her head to look at Kaj again. "Let Kahlua be a Phoenix." 'Cheesy.' Tallis snickered, causing his bonded to roll her eyes and look at him. "Cheesy, but he'll understand it."

The conversation shifted once more to the more unpleasant Seer. "What Council?" Eva asked since there had been no herd meeting yet to introduce them to the herd.

Of all the words Evangeline could have spoken, her wisest included the topic of the Goddess that had placed the title he held upon his crown, deeming him King. Sighing softly he smiled a tad weakly at the orange lass, a little sheepish. "You are right as always, Evangeline. I guess I'm just a stubborn mule with too much worry," he laughed softly, eyes crinkling at the edges. He was sometimes set in his ways, but he was not so rigid as to blindly turn away from what Evangeline was sharing with him. He had to trust that the Council he had adopted from Mirage, the stability of his people, could weather anything. Even if he was reluctant to place weight upon Kahlua, should it ever go bad, he had to believe the Edge would be stable no matter what catastrophe could ever happen.

Her idiom only confused him, face crinkling hopelessly. Was it supposed to mean something about beauty? Was she saying that Kahlua was plain, but wouldn't be when he...what, encouraged her? Luckily for him, it seemed that Tallis understood his confusion and communicated this to Evangeline before he could mumble out an embarrassed explanation for his silence and idiotic look. She amended herself, and Kaj felt clarity sweep away the confusion on his pale face. The Phoenix and the Pyre was an idiom he knew well, and he was grateful that she cared enough to switch her manner of speech to best help him understand. Others may have mocked him for being a King and so incompetent when it came to Helovian manners of speech. It only increased Evangeline's standing in his eyes.

"I will certainly try. Thank you, Evangeline. I enjoy this, speaking with you. Were I not so hard to convince to stop being so protective, we would have many great debates. Perhaps other topics? It would be an honor to speak with you on such manners regularly." He smiles then, amusement a twinkle in pale blue skies living in the heart of his eyes. "And perhaps you can teach me the different phrases I am so incapable of grasping? I could share with you my language, perhaps? Ik ben meer bedreven in die taal." His voice shifted into a deeper purr, sliding like silk over throaty words, majestic in comparison to how he spoke the language of the Helovians. Kaj had nobody to share this language with, and yet he spoke it with a beauty he doubted he could transfer into the language the Helovians used. It was a shame.

Clearing his throat he smiled pleasantly at Evangeline's confusion. "It was created by Mirage. It is a council of the highest ranking individuals. Among ours, there stands our Doctors, Glaziers, and Captains. It is to promote fairness and to ensure Kahlua and I do not become tyrants, though that is self-explanatory." he laughed softly. He had not announced it at the previous meeting if only because he had not thought there were still some who were unaware of its existence.

Translation: Ik ben meer bedreven in die taal --- I'm more proficient in that language

She certainly could not disagree that the King was stubborn as a mule. Not when she'd had to repeat herself time and again then rephrase what she had said to make him finally believe her. "Being stubborn is not entirely a bad thing. When you're dealing with an unreasonable individual it can pay off to be stubborn." She mused. "Being stubborn when you come to someone for advice and counsel can be a bit frustrating to the one you sought out." Granted he probably hadn't come to her specifically, she'd probably just happened to be at the right place at the right time, but he still sought counsel from her once he found her there.

He seemed apologetic that he was protective of the herd and that made Evangeline snort softly. "Never apologize for being protective of the herd you love." She chided the king gently. "I've seen Kings who were more worried about what they could conquer next than the safety of their herd. It was only when their herd had been attacked and was suffering that they finally realized the error of their ways and by then it was too late." She frowned as she remembered Isilme and its never ending wars because of Kings who wanted to conquer everything and everyone and the Originals who had thought themselves Gods. "They may have been Kings for longer, but they were not half the king you are now."

As her words came to an end he spoke again of her teaching him phrases common in Helovia. It was an odd request, she thought, but that was momentarily forgotten when he spoke another language. The tone of his voice seemed to change and she couldn't contain the shiver that worked its way down her spine. She had no idea what he had said, but she could listen to him speak in that language for hours and she felt that she would never be bored. "Oh... yes." Eva said when she realized that he had stopped speaking. "I could do that..." Tallis made a gagging noise and slipped away from his bonded and the king.

Eva turned her head and watched as the dragon made an abrupt exit, her ears tilted toward Kaj as he spoke of the council. Finally she turned her head back toward him and nodded her head. "A council is a good idea to keep everything in balance, though I have to admit I have a hard time thinking of either of you as a tyrant."