[ if anyone disagrees with something in this post, let me know! <3 ]

It seemed that their approval was all Ulrik needed; without a backward glance the Engineer abandoned his post by Cassiopeia and drifted closer to the rim of the mountains, where dark cavern mouths gaped. Mauja raised his 'brows and looked at Psyche in vague amusement. Ulrik had never been quite normal, and it seemed that his keen mind had latched onto the task of creating a prison, forgetting all else. Not that it surprised Mauja — he knew quite well that the engineer was prone to acting in these rough ways. It was a refreshing change sometimes, to be around someone who skipped the niceties and didn't beat about the bush. Ulrik told you what was on his mind; he didn't grow bitter and inflamed. At least, that was the impression the frosty one had.

"No need," he said, and Mauja smiled wryly, not bothering to reply. It wouldn't surprise him if Ulrik would've built it just for the sake of getting to build something complex. "Seems we're lucky," he murmured to Psyche, before trailing after the black mechanic, curious to see what he was doing, and where their prison would be located. The wind tugged playfully at his mane, and he cast a look over his shoulder, making sure that Snö was staying with their prisoner, as he had a feeling Psyche would come along to watch, too. After a moment Ulrik seemed to settle on a cave. Mauja had waited patiently outside, and a few yards off, while the engineer checked the interior. Bright-eyed, almost like a child, he watched as the bronze-marked beast came out again, closing his eyes, and for a moment he almost seemed peaceful, not so gruff, when he lost himself in the magic.

He even looked handsome.

Then Mauja snorted, mostly to himself, and looked at the magic taking place instead of the magician. Metal bars forced themselves from the mountain face, settling across the cavern's mouth and barring entrance — or exit. Some contraption took shape and Mauja's head tilted to the side, wondering what it was, but Ulrik's bronze eyes opened and his voice carried through the silence. Most of what he said was gibberish to Mauja, probably related to machine-making, but the pale stallion didn't let it faze him. He nodded solemnly, before looking over to Snö and Cassiopeia once more. "Snö," he called. "Make sure Cassiopeia is out of sight and hearing." He'd rather not let someone wander away with the knowledge of how to program faces into their prison lock — it'd be quite counterproductive if a rescuer could just get it to know their face and steal all their prisoners. Once he was sure both daughter and pegasus were out of the way, he turned back to Ulrik and nodded.