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.