oh come forth
into the storm and rout
and be my love in the rain

It is not a patrol that comes to intercept him as he is lowering himself through the clouds, though he would have welcomed them kindly. In fact it is a familiar face, grown and changed but with the same eyes and smiling mouth Kaj remembered. A fond, affectionate smile crawls across his own lips, eyes soft and tender as they gaze down upon the boy turned man. His name and a greeting came tumbling out in an excited jumble, and Kaj could still see the exuberant colt hiding within the skin of this grown stallion. They grow up so fast, he mused with a sigh and an internal shake of his head. Already he could see Aleta growing up, sparks dancing across her skin like a livewire, mismatched eyes alive with light and joy. She would grow to make a beautiful mare, and he prayed to be around to see it. At least he was here to see Ilios, fully grown and comfortable in his skin. That meant the world to him already.

"Ilios," he greeted warmly in return, pumping his wings to reach forward and brush his muzzle against the boy's, if he would receive it. "Don't call me sir," he rumbled out on a laugh, the idea preposterous when he'd practically helped raise the kid. Before he deigned to answer any questions he took the moment to glance down towards the earth and the waiting sand as Ilios mentioned it. "That would probably be best for my old bones," Kaj teased, letting his wings release their resistance and spiraling in loose circles down to the sand with a solid spray. The jug battered his shoulder, liquid sloshing inside, as he adjusted his sore shoulders and turned to face Ilios. 

"The Falls is well," he commented vaguely, if only because he had no desire to speak of his herd in that moment. It was sad that he generally didn't want to at all anymore, and while his plan was shapeless and vague, he knew something had to be done about that soon. He could not live in this purgatory of regret and apathy any longer, and something would have to give. But now, here upon these sandy, sunny shores, it was not the time to be lingering upon bitterness and lost dreams. Not when his adopted son stood glowing and healthy before him, truly happy. His choice to go to the Throat had clearly been the right one, and Kaj was happy for him. 

"I was actually looking for -" and the words halt in his throat as she walks up, emerging from the sunlit horizon as if called to him by the placement of her name in his mind. His tongue goes dry, watching her approach with her pale locks draping attractively across her shoulders, odd little wings rustling behind her ears. All paling in comparison to the sharp gold of her eyes, silencing and swallowing any words he was hoping to speak. Had it truly been so long? She had seemed different in the Veins, less imposing with her barbs and burned skin. Here, she was regal, and he felt just as much cowed by her presence as enraptured by it. She spoke his name, a beacon of clarity in the murk of the world and his own emotions. Blue eyes softened alongside her own, the handsome curl of his smile gentle and almost secretive. " - Maren," he finished, transferring her name along his tongue into a proper responsive greeting. 

Her compliment twisted around the curves of his ribs like flowering vines, tickling joyously every soft spot inside of him. He supposed he did look good, in comparison to the last state he'd been in before her. Kaj dipped his head humbly beneath the weight of the rare compliment, tucking it away into his memories, folding it like an origami crane to hang upon his heart. "You look beautiful," Kaj murmured softly, unapologetic in his bold choice of words. "I'm glad the burns have healed," he noted, and perhaps a playful glint sparked in his eyes as he said it, remembering the doubtful purse of her lips and his own green-stained muzzle. It had worked, had it not?

Eyes flickered to Ilios with an apologetic smile; he would make sure to visit the boy again before he left. "I was looking for Maren, actually," he clarified apologetically. "We can speak before I leave? I have missed you," he said softly, not wanting to chase Ilios away but hoping for the privacy it would afford him, just in case he made a fool of himself. His smile as he turned back towards Maren was playful, but it quickly crumpled into something shy and almost boyish as he gestured to the earthen jug at his shoulder. "I brought you something," he clarified, and if he were capable of it his cheeks would be hot with an embarrassed blush. Gritting his teeth around the thick vine the stallion hefted it from his shoulders, settling it with a thud into the sand before languidly stretching and rolling his shoulders now that the weight was gone. "I remembered how much you liked the tea at the winter festival, so..." taking a quick breath lest he embarrass himself further with his hesitancy around the imposing woman, Kaj pulled the top off and a small billow of steam escaped, wafting the smell and tickling his nares. Setting the lid down between his hooves, Kaj smiled up from beneath his forelock at the Diviner, hoping for her approval.

"Resplendence said it's chamomile, not peppermint this time. I hope that doesn't matter?" Gods what was he, a colt with his first crush? Kaj had always prescribed to the courting method of his homeland, but even back then he had fumbled his way shyly through the process. It was nice to see time couldn't change some things. Or it would be nice if he wasn't so terribly nervous.