With every blow and kiss of bruise Kaj had winced and felt the echo of old pain against his own canvas. An old challenge for a winged belle, Aaron's sister. A spar between himself and his old mentor. A thousand with Destrier, back when they had been inseparable, brothers in arms. Golden light and ebony shadows. They had been partners, equals. Kaj missed him with an ache that he did not like to linger on, for it would only grow into a chasm with the awareness that the beast had lost so many more than just Destrier. He fought with honor, with pride, with valor. Kaj did not find any fault in him for losing, for there would always be those in the world who were better. Who were wiser, more experienced. He had fought well in Cetan's place, and Kaj found something precious and valuable in that. He had always respected Thor, long before he became the Gentle Heart and the mantle was the brute's for the taking.

By the time the match was over, Kaj's wings and spine ached and shuddered from hovering and circling the battlefield for so long. Archibald's words rang in his mind, reminding him that he could not interfere on Thor's behalf. He would not doubt the brute would find offense in it, regardless, considering Kaj now held a title that had once firmly been Thor's. When the blows had been dealt and the exchanges made, Kaj allowed himself to fall, with ease and grace to give his muscles the relief they so desired. His wings had never failed him, however; the skies had never become a battleground of danger or insecurity. His landing came with ease, a whisper of his hooves upon the grass and the familiar ache of a flight held too long, too low. Away from the currents of air high above where he belonged.

Striding down into the sands, hips rocking beneath his weight, Kaj approached his Specter with a quiet air that broadcasted to those gathered round that they were momentarily unwelcome. Body language was his finest gift, after all, and the Edge denizens had grown used to his ways in the long seasons he'd led them.

Sand hushed and sprayed from his hooves, wings loose but tucked to his sides as his shoulders twinged. A little pain could be forsaken if it meant giving soft words to his Specter, assuring him that a loss was no damnable notion for the King nor anyone else in the Edge. Or so he suspected.

"Thor," he greeted softly, a roll of thunder echoing in his deep vocals. Head dipped briefly to chest, a gesture of respect, honoring what Thor had done for Cetan on the battlefield they stood upon in that moment. "Thank you," was at first all he said, a mere whisper. No more words were required. Cetan could not have stood against Thranduil, not triumphed against him in his youth and foolishness. They were both aware of that particular fact, and Kaj suspected that was why Thor had stepped in on Cetan's behalf in the first place. Kaj would have to clean the child's mess politically, once again, but there was little distaste in that manner. After all, it would give him an excuse to travel north, to be rid of all the stress that coated his shoulders like snow did a stubborn tree.

"Do you require a healer?" Was next off his lips, kind but quiet, if only for the sake of Thor's potential pride on the matter. "You have done well. There is no need to hurt yourself further." Just in case, of course. He was clueless to the turmoil in his Specter's mind, to the depth of his anger, his outrage. The two had been separated so long, it was as if the Gentle Heart were a stranger anew. And though Kaj's heart twinged with the reminder that the brute was clearly better than Kaj in Evangeline's eyes, he would not begrudge his kin that. Kaj had always failed, when it came to love.

Something curled and twisted beneath Thor's visage, chased shadows in his eyes, dark and vile and wrong. Kaj shuddered to see it, even if the shivers never made it to the canvas of his body. There is a distant confusion curdling in his own head, wondering what he could have said to have prickled the beast and turned him sour and vindictive. He had weighed his words carefully, chosen them with as much grace and kindness as he could summon to his tongue. How was it that even when Kaj put forth the effort to never cause harm, it was always the nettled whip that met him in return?

The words that kissed his ears like a violent lover promising a night of vengeance were too vague, too aimless for Kaj to pin down. He gazed dumbly back at Thor, not sure whether the brute was merely sore about his loss or if there was some grand injustice the golden warrior had committed against him in the time between watching the battle and approaching him. Grumpily, the king noticed that he had been the only one to approach the Gentle Heart. Wasn't that testament to how he cared for the mighty stallion, that he would return to his side and offer quiet aid even when no others did?

Eyes drifted towards the evergreens, and Kaj followed his line of sight, not sure what it was that haunted his brother and why his aura was so sharp. Like a porcupine, Thor was bristled out against Kaj, and the pale brute was merely flailing about trying to sneak a peek at the sensitive underbelly of the defensive beast. If he could perhaps get past whatever was nettling the former king, then Kaj could see the truth behind his actions, and therefore figure out how best to treat and care for his brother in arms.

Any thought of helping him was severed brutally as Thor's word snapped out, completely uncalled for, grating against the kindly ruler's ears. Kaj's eyes narrowed, slow and deliberate, and his ears did so in return as they traversed towards his cranium with a meaningful lethargy. "Do not spit upon my kindness when no other has come to thank or help you," he growled softly, not quite emanating the anger that he stored deep within, attempting to be levelheaded. Thor getting a rise out of him would not help the situation, but it did not mean that Kaj had to take his blatant disrespect either. Former king or no, Kaj gave as good as he got, and Thor would be in for the rarely seen fury of the warrior if such ridiculousness progressed.

The possibility of discussion mildly smoothed Kaj's ruffled feathers, and he nodded sharply. Perhaps if Thor simply got it out of his system, he would no longer see the need for his brattish insolence and wayward tongue. If Kaj had to play babysitter through his tantrum, then at least it would not be one of his other innocent herdmates who suffered through the temper of the defeated stag.

Evangeline's name was a surprise, a variable unforeseen. Kaj blinked in silence at the weathered stallion for a few moments, not quite sure where that particular question took root, why it had been cast his way. With yet another barbed undertone, Kaj fitfully noted. Still, he frowned heavily, feeling as if his privacy and friendship with Evangeline was being investigated. "I was not aware that was any of your business," he said simply, a quiet warning. This does not have to go there, Thor.

Kaj was helpless to try and figure out what Thor was thinking, the darkness that seemed to plague his mind and turned his words sour and bitter against once-friends. Amicable though Kaj tried to be, he was met with venomous fangs that lashed out against hopeful, opened palms. So Kaj retreated, eyeing the brute carefully, not sure what it was he needed to do or be in that moment to help his old brother. He had embodied a punching bag for Resplendence, when she'd needed it. A comforting body, warm and inviting, for Kahlua. They were all Kaj, all portions and shades of his own soul, but he brought them to the forefront to allow those he held beloved the chance to heal. What did Thor need? Why was his bitterness so profound, his hatred so obtuse, so conspicuous? Perhaps Kaj had grown used to the kinship he'd built in the Edge, to the sense of family and loyalty. He had forgotten what it was like to be hated, in any manner of the word or severity of its meanings.

So instead he remained where he was standing, allowing Thor to look upon him, or down on him. Remained still and complacent, steadily removing his layers and barriers to bare himself to Thor. Whether the brute saw the actions as what they were or not, it was a moment that Kaj needed as well. He removed his armor, even though a part of him longed for it with how Thor seemed intent to harm and cripple him. But he had to try and trust the warrior before him, beaten and battered though he was. Yet he still managed to wield such power. Kaj turned his pale eyes upon the scraped hide, the shuttered face, and awaited judgment on what Thor thought he saw. Or was it a truth that Kaj could not avoid? Was he the one who was deluded?

Instead he gawked at Thor's words, allowed himself to flinch against them, feel the hurt they inspired in his very flesh. "That is what I am offering," he said quietly, the confusion blatantly evident on his lost, broken features. "I came to you because I am your friend, Thor." Wasn't he? Was the sentiment not returned? Had some twisted form of jealousy taken over his once-brother? How was Kaj supposed to display his faithfulness, his loyalty, when Thor only saw them as fragmented facades? "I am trying to understand. I don't know what I've done to deserve your harshness," he exclaimed helplessly, staring into Thor as if the deeper he looked, he could find the words written plainly in the fissures of the colors of his eyes.

Instead, he was greeted with words of failure and frustration. So Kaj let his shoulders fall, almost meek in his defeat. It was like trying to plead his innocence to a mountain, impassive and unwilling to listen. So instead he spoke his own piece, wondering if it would lift the burden from his shoulders personally. "I do not care for titles. I do all I can to keep our family safe, but I would do that in any aspect of this herd. I only ever stood before you as a brother, as an equal. Your eyes are blinded by an ill I cannot name, be it jealousy or bitterness or misplaced hatred." Slowly Kaj lifted his face to Thor's, reserved and quiet but strong nonetheless as he flayed himself open and displayed his innards for Thor to spit upon as he had everything else. But Kaj still held a quiet hope that perhaps he could bring Thor back to him, from whatever dark sea he had been cast out upon and lost to. "I don't know how to make you believe me if you close your ears and heart to me. Do you wish for the crown? I would offer it to you, if it would make you see how little I care for a title. I only ever wanted your brotherhood."