i am the vanguard of your destruction

So, sometimes you mean to get things done, but then you just.. never have the time. You think of it from time to time, at useless times, like when you're about to fall asleep, or in a place where you literally can't do anything about it—like, when you're halfway across the world doing something else. And then, when you come back to the place you need to be in in order to do that shit, you, conveniently, forget about it!

That had been happening a lot lately. Mauja was, in a way, still used to living in the Edge—he just settled right back in into the habit of spending the better part of his life on the way to or from the Threshold, and in between he managed to cram in things like brooding and breaking down. It didn't leave much over for his queenly duties. And besides, there was that shift between him and the present; part of him had fallen back into the past, when.. when everyone had known him, and his role.

But now.. they didn't.

Frankly, he didn't even know the majority of his new herd.

It was, he figured, a short-coming, but hey. He had never been one to flaunt his rank in the faces of others, preferring to not give himself away, to just.. stand silent vigil in the shadows, watching and waiting. He had played the role of their protector and their guide—both of which he had failed at, by the way—not their.. oppressor.

No. He would leave to Torleik to be their figurehead, the one they knew as King, and he would keep living his life as he did—quietly.

Except, you're not really quiet if you're shouting.

"Elsa!"

Ophelia—shit, he wasn't ready for the bitter surge going through his heart—had made her verdict. Torleik was worthy of being their military lead. Elsa was.. worthy of training in the arts of war.

Theoretically, Mauja didn't give a damn about anyone's verdicts now that he ruled, nor did he give a damn about appeasing those who hadn't been worthy (fuck it, he wasn't worthy either). But.. but.

She had been steeped in bitterness and loss. If it was one thing Mauja knew, it was how it would ruin your life if left in your bones. Whether it was altruism or the selfish need to try and keep her from becoming an enemy.. he didn't know yet.

Regardless, she had agreed to the role, and Torleik hadn't exactly voiced any, uh, disapproval of appointing her as Forungi—and he would know better, as he had been at their trials. Mauja didn't have any clue what had happened over there. The only thing he knew was that they had mentioned in passing that they ought to have a chat with her, for reasons. And Mauja agreed. He needed to know who she was, what she dreamed of, aspired to—what she feared, what she.. what made her tick. What made the blood go round when her heart seemed as tired and beaten as his. "Torleik!"

And, if she wanted to stay on and do her job she'd better be around; he'd made his way to the glass wall, stepping outside to pass along the outer rim. He hadn't seen her in the herdland since the, ehh, verdicts, but if she had any sense she'd stick close. He was pretty sure Torleik was in the Edge—he'd caught his smell, and it was fresh—but if not.. he shrugged as he went along, the owls having spread out to cover more ground.

And if the herd thought it weird one regent shouted for the other?

They better get used to it. Mauja couldn't summon anyone with telepathy, nor could he have the foresight to always book a meeting. Sometimes you just got an urge and had to run with it, and today, as the sun shone brilliantly upon a perfect, frosty ground, he was running with the voice that said let's get down to business .. to defeat the Huuuns.

[ @[Elsa] and @[Torleik], what do you guys think, it's best to place this before the meeting? Red, if you didn't like my invention of them having mentioned talking to Elsa just let me know and I'll edit it out and make it all Mau's idea. :P ]