Suddenly, he was struck by how strange their meeting was; two proud soldiers walking a lonely road, and all of a sudden they were neither proud nor soldiers, merely two broken men plodding along and confessing weakness. Who would've believed it? Mauja, their ice-hearted first King, and d'Artagnan, the Doctor who was always quick to scoff at emotions and practice his evil craft on unsuspecting (or suspecting, if he wanted them to suffer) victims.. yet here they were, bitter and confused. He felt old, too old, as if everything he'd ever been through had piled up on top of his shoulders instead of just flying off into the past. d'Artagnan gave a shaky chuckle and told him to stop looking so worried; Mauja responded with a bark of laughter. Somehow the subject of emotions had made him forget that it was the stoic Nightshade he was talking to, and not some bleeding fop. Mauja cared, and greatly, for the red beast, but it was true.. he didn't need to look quite so worried. The concern faded and the lines on his face smoothed out, his pupils moving to seek out Aramis ahead and watch while he waited for his friend to gather his thoughts and speak.

"It's a long story and one you already know most of. I've been berating you for being weak when really I am no better..." He felt another stab of guilt at that, then scowled; just because they both were weak didn't mean they should just ignore it and go merrily on their way. If d'Artagnan could kick some strength back into Mauja's spine, it'd be for the better, and perhaps he could return the favor one day. But he held his tongue, and listened without interrupting, trying to fit the pieces to make a whole. When it seemed he had finished with his tirade, Mauja let out a soft sigh and mulled over what he'd said; d'Artagnan's mismatched eyes were somewhere else, wandering the landscape, and Mauja's blue laid on the road ahead of his hooves.

The sudden laugh startled him out of his thoughts, head snapping up and around, black-tipped ears sweeping forward to catch the words; they truly were a sorry pair, both loathing themselves for their weakness and yet bitter about the circumstances which had brought them to their knees. Mauja chuckled mirthlessly. "And I'm Mauja the Frostheart, but I feel more like a puddle," he said dryly, yet he felt bad that d'Artagnan's own issues made him feel slightly better. It was stupid, parasitic and pathetic, but he couldn't deny it. After a moment he sighed, though. "I was the King she chose, d'Art. She hinted once that I ruled only because she saw fit, or somesuch, and I figured that I hadn't done anything wrong, then, as I still ruled. But then..." He shrugged. "Was their worship better than ours? Did they mean more to her, than those who had defended her name and bled for her allegiance when the Sun scorched the lands? Where was Mirage, when the Edge burned? Where was Mirage when Hellena was injured? Where was Mirage, when I went to the Veins and asked Earth and Moon to heal our forest?" His voice was almost a growl.

"Yet we lost, and the Moon doesn't seem to give a flying fuck about it. Those fucking dragons keep fires burning among the trees, I've seen it, d'Art — wouldn't you think that land has had enough of fire for a lifetime? How can they be so disrespectful?" Mauja's ears fell back, some of the harshness fading from his voice as his fire went out again. He was silent for a moment. "You're no weaker than me, brother — not that that makes it better... But I've lost things before. Forget about your imprisonment. It doesn't matter, it's over. Carrying it around your neck isn't going to help." But that was hardly the heart of the issue, was it? Mesec seemed to be, yet Mauja had no idea how to address that — love of one's children was unconditional love, yet Mesec bore wings, was the son of the deity who had let them down...

"I miss the Edge, but sometimes I wonder if I really want it back.. if I'd rather not live outside of her influence," he said quietly, peering at the sunny sky. Perhaps even the Sun's rage was better than the discomfort of knowing how she'd betrayed them.