The response was certainly not the one he had been expecting. Blinking, one 'brow shot up in a cool, question arch. The stranger drew into the light, and it shimmered softly on the fine shapes, as if metallic in hue. That in itself was perhaps not so strange, but what followed was. Without words, the stallion lowered himself into an elegant bow, and Mauja was forced to watch in bemused, worried silence. Why on earth was he bowing? Did he somehow know the name Mauja, or the description of a frozen, marbled king? Another unicorn had come through the Edge, spouting tales - rumors - of his Plague. And this one bowed to him all of a sudden. Flickering his tail idly against his hocks, Mauja waited for him to rise up again. When he did, it was with a direct gaze. Unfazed, Mauja held it, capturing those red eyes in the net of his ice blue ones.

“You, the great King of Edge.” He strangled the urge to snort. Great King? What lies had this one been listening to? Mauja had done little worthy of being entitled Great, bar dance a dangerous game and avoiding war. His cleansing work was going slow, he had no grand empire to speak of. He ruled by a divine grant, and held his crown with wit and keen senses. What made him greater than anyone else? Kri had fought hoof and tooth for her land - surely she was more worthy of being called Great than he.

Raithe? The name was vaguely familiar - likely one who had come and gone, or only passed through Helovia. So many creatures crossed his path nearly ever day, he'd go insane if he kept track of them all. "So my renown is spreading..." he said with a lopsided grin. For better or for worse, he was getting known out in the wide world. Valentine he called himself, adding a your highness to it. Again, Mauja fought the urge to snort or roll his eyes. Titles. Bah. They were not for him, but it felt a bit disrespectful to tell them to not say it. Generally, they thought that they were being respectful, and correcting them seemed a tad rude.

"Everything?" he said with a small, nearly unreadable smile. His eyes showed little, merely a teasing warmth, but nothing at all of how the thoughts spun beneath his alabaster hide. Mauja would not tell a strange everything. Strangers could be spies. "The best way to know, is to experience - to see, and learn. We're a herd of unicorns, trying to convince the others not to wage war upon us for our .. racial seclusion." With a motion of his head, Mauja had invited him to walk. Out of respect for Valentine's wishes he kept to the shadier parts, crossing only into sunlight when their path needed it. "Be respectful, and you will be given respect in turn - by most, at least." He couldn't imagine Alan being respectful to anyone, not really.