( sorry for the wait guys :c my muse said goodbye for a few days and then my owed posts just piled up like crazy. )

The cold had finally claimed him, settling in his body like leaden weights. It deadened some of the pain, lessened the abominable ache in his kicked thigh—his "worst" injury, he thought—just as it stiffened him, making it harder to move, and more likely to tear. Still, the scuffle seemed to have worked, for when Voodoo had drifted away from his side again, he'd been a lot.. calmer? At least, he hadn't smelled of anger, and being near him hadn't set Mauja on edge. Maybe he'd need to "tap" his fury again, or maybe he wouldn't need to, but at that point, all had been well.

And Mauja, fool that he was, had remained up on the fields. If the cloud cover ever slid back, perhaps he would find a ledge where he could peer down into the Foothills... Or perhaps not. He sighed, white breath smoking to the sky, and figured staying up here while he healed was as good a plan as any. If someone annoyed him, he could just shove them off the nearest slope and be done with it.

"Mauja?"

The call was faint, the voice raspy, but the wind smelled unmistakeably of Voodoo and.. something else. Wolf, his mind said, and Irma wheeled up in the air, taking wing and scouting ahead. Indulging in a groan, Mauja set off in the direction of Voodoo, hoping he wasn't more injured than when he'd left him. But if a wolf was attacking him, surely he'd called a bit more intently?

But he wasn't attacked at all. Irma saw them clearly, Voodoo standing, the other, a fur-blob of tan, sitting on slender haunches, ears tipped and eyes intent. She claimed not to recognize the wolf, and Mauja shook his head slowly as he fell into an easy trot, telling her she'd been but an egg when she'd met Arathea last.

"Voodoo! Arathea!" he called out once he was closer, white tail flagging and his gait somewhat regal despite his vaguely uneven step. The best way to hide it was to take short steps, and that was what he was doing, not wanting to stretch the sore muscle.

It had been a long time since he'd seen the wolf-creature last, and he remembered his bitter disappointment that the predator had not helped them in fighting the Qian off – perhaps she could've turned the tide, but it was useless to think of now. She'd disappeared, just as he had disappeared, and that was that. If she'd come here with Voodoo.. perhaps she wanted to repent? He'd find out soon enough. Favoring them both with a smile, Mauja reached out to brush his muzzle across Voodoo's in greeting, before sidling away to stand in the middle between them, peering at Arathea. "Long time no see, Warden Wolf."

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The shaggy canine padded toward me, keeping a respectful distance as she promised. She sat a ways away from me, her cupped ears flipping toward me. Red eyes looked over the wolf, hoping that there would be no blood or the distinct scent of a battered body stuck on her. From what I could tell, I found nothing in particular, just the smell of a wet dog. I nodded at Arathea, a sense of relief washing over me as I did so. If I had just summoned Mauja and she had not shown up, I would just look dumb. How would that go? "Uhm, hello sir. Would you like to just finish your work and beat the living shit out of me?" Hopefully that wouldn't be the case.

It was only a minute or two of standing in the cold, waiting for the interruption of the silence as the draft makes his way toward us. Snow crunched and groaned in the distance, the water working its way out of the frozen flakes under sheer weight. The leopard spotted king trotted toward us, seeming almost completely unharmed from our little battle-royal. There was only a tiny, almost unnoticeable limp in his step. What did I look like? Probably like I was missing a leg because I was limping and tripping every where while I was walking. Great.

"Voodoo! Arathea!" Oh thank the Gods, they did know each other. I grinned as the snow beast approached, his gray mug reaching out to brush against my own. I hesitated, but figured this was something that my lord would like me to return the greeting. I bobbed my red nose into Mauja's gray one in turn, my attention drifting toward Arathea as the stallion greeted her as well. "Warden Wolf?" I cocked my face to the right, ears flicked forward in attention.

[Ooc: I think a lot of us are going through this stupid muse drain. :(( ]
Tagged: @[Arathea] and Mauja
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Table by Frostie

Voodoo was silent, his muzzle warm against Mauja's; blue eyes ran over the scab on his flank for the briefest of moments, simply taking in the aftermath of their scuffle. It didn't look – or smell – infected from where he stood, but you never knew. Still, he was somewhat satisfied he hadn't accidentally ruined the young stallion for life, which would've been quite a shame. He could go far, and Mauja would hate to get in the way of that – by accident. Now, wouldn't that have been a fine salt to rub into his metaphorical wounds?

Arathea's eyes disappeared from his view as she dipped her head down, and his own canted to one side, watching her curiously. Was it a sign of respect, as it was in horses? Silently he gazed at her, hearing her say she was not the Warden anymore, and in his mind he replied, neither am I King. That backwards flick of the ears, was it anger? Did they fall flat against her skull, or was her winter's fur merely making it seem so? Even as he listened he pondered the quiet language of her body, trying to find some fitting schematic, a way to read it without assuming she was a horse; as she got up on her gangly legs, he remained where he was, watching her come closer. His past dealings with her had convinced him she was, to him, harmless, otherwise he would've watched her with wariness, but now it was just with a silent kind of pity.

It wasn't her fault they had lost, really. Could he blame her for leaving, after they had been scattered, and thrown out into the snow? His head tipped further to the side, one blue eye peering down at the back of her skull as she let her hot wolf's breath brush against his chest. He wasn't at all sure how he felt about a wolf breathing on his throat, but figured the ease with which he could stab her put them on an even ground – and if it had been any other wolf than Arathea, he certainly wouldn't have let it come that close. Trust was something Mauja was still uncomfortable with, but just as he knew d'Artagnan would never kill him intentionally, he was fairly certain Arathea wouldn't either.

She had been looking for him since summer? It was oddly touching, and slowly he straightened out and lowered his head, muzzle-first, to lip comfortingly at her scruff. Her tail had begun to sway, and as all he could see of the wolf with her so close was her back and tail, he let his eyes follow the mesmerizing movement. "Indeed, here I am," he responded quietly, watching the sway-sway of her tail's tip. "And if you want to, you can be Warden again, but of the Basin instead of the Edge." Until the day we take it back.

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I stood silently, dark hued eyes watching the two converse. It was getting hard to follow the realistic conversation -even though it had just started- thanks to the muffled taunts and complains coming from the center of my head. Just kill the fucking mutt, and you and Mauja can skip home together like little fairies I laid my ears back, trying to hold back an amused smile that ended up splitting my red mug in two. Damn it.. if they saw me grinning wildly at absolutely nothing they would surely think I've gone completely mad.. Or would they figure that I already have? Do they even know about them? No one else seemed to, so probably not. I tucked my lips under my teeth for a moment as if I were able to tear the smile away from my body.

A moment of awkward lip-biting passed, the grin finally leaving my mouth back to the straight line that I rather preferred. The black flag that hung from my hind end lazily bobbed up and down, the end swishing back and forth along with the movement, wrapping strands of loose hair around the dark points of my legs. Arathea babbled on for what felt like forever. I caught very little of what she said; her bad grammar and tiny voice from so far down felt like she was miles away.. but, she's really not that small. She's actually quite a frightening size. Agh, how I hate wolves. My skin crawled at the thought of her following me all the way back to this frozen hell hole.

Nostrils flared, drawing in a deep breath and releasing it with a long, bored sigh. The snowy stallion dropped his face to nuzzle the canine; the hair along my spike stood up, fear striking at my very core as I watched the two subjects in front of me. Arathea's tail began wagging back and forth solidly out of happiness -I assume- but the fast motion nearly closed my air way off and my heart to stop. Mauja's bare throat... it was right there, right in front of her light colored face. My chest felt tight, but I ignored it and attempted to keep my cool.

I allowed this canine to follow me all the way back here, nearly all the way across Helovia itself, to find the spotted stallion and allow her to be completely aware of what was going on. I had let my guard down enough to completely carry my twitting brain along with us the whole trip; their voices casting their own shadows into my already absurd thought process. The fact that I had let a wolf near me was surely a step up in my fatal fears, and it would surely help me out later on in life. Perhaps she would end up not being the only wolf lurking through Helovia that was actually, helpful rather than a ruthless killer.

They probably wonder the same things about us.

Tagged: @[Arathea] and Mauja
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Table by Frostie

Hugging a huge wolf wasn't things he usually did, but some time has to be the first for everything, no? Her fur smelled nice, of forest and life, though he couldn't help but feel that undercurrent of instinct, because she did smell a lot like a wolf. The faint odor of her predator's breath was a constant backdrop, a reminder that she preyed on flesh. So do I Irma chimed in helpfully, and he smothered the chuckle. He didn't judge Arathea for her feeding habits – but he did have to battle the instincts which had kept his ancestors alive for generations.

His offer seemed to take her by surprise, and he felt a small smile curl his lips. She was kind and likeable, and had been willing to help him with Irma's feeding, and on top of that, she was a wolf. To be allied with such a creature would boost the morale of his troops, and perhaps frighten those who came knocking on their door (or maybe they wouldn't care, being used to Vikram and Mirage, but dragons had a history of co-existing with the horses; wolves, did not). His blue eyes went to Voodoo, who was rather subdued, not saying anything, but watching intently. Arathea had taken a few steps back, looking rather small and fragile with her slender body hunched over like that. It stirred that same kind of pity in his heart; what kind of wolf was she, that she had to carve out her existence in a land of horses? All alone?

"I'm sure you would be," he replied evenly, though his eyes were watching Voodoo, trying to gauge his reaction. "If I'm not mistaken, there were several in the Edge who were interested by having a wolf around, and in the Basin, at least one regular wolf has shared our home." Mauja glanced down at Arathea again. "But, there are always some who will be worried or disagree. We are, after all, tasty animals." One corner of his mouth curled up in a lopsided grin, and he let his eyes fall back on the other unicorn. "Voodoo?" The name was a question, an invitation to hear the charcoal youth's opinion on it all.

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The canine shuffled away from the wrap of the snow beast's neck, shrinking away from the two of us as she had when we had first met. My brain told me that I should feel bad, to feel some pity for the poor wolf, but instead I just watched in silence. They clacked in my skull, complaining about the whole situation to themselves. I stood away from the two as they spoke, awkwardly watching and listening, this time being able to focus and pick up what Mauja began to direct toward Arathea.

"We are, after all, tasty animals." My right ear flicked back as if I was having a muscle spasm while the left pushed forward curiously. I'm sure you guys are one suggested, poking at the side of my skull with non-existent fingers. I stared down at the shaggy dog, the thought whirling through my brain like a dust devil. "Voodoo?" As soon as he announced my name, I immediately brought my eyes back up to the larger white stallion. "Huh?" I let out an awkward, soft chuckle, looking back to Arathea. "As long as you have trust in her, I do too."

My attention came back to Mauja, my red eyes attempting to find his own bright blue ones, full of questioning. My tail flicked back and forth, swiping across my legs with each short swish. What was it that made it okay for different species to intermingle? The Basin was full of Unicorns as far as I know.. I've had yet to see another species. That's because you're never there. You can't stay in once place for very long, can you boy? Well, very true. I can't help but try to see everything before something happens and makes me stay in the Basin.

Tagged: @[Arathea] and @[Mauja]
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Table by Frostie

( prepare for epic suck ;~; )

There was something touching about creating happiness in another.. in being able to give them something they wanted. He could understand those who always strove to please others, who, in a roundabout fashion, gave up their lives for others – in a way, it was similar to what he was doing, sacrificing the individual for the future of the group. A small smile touched his face, blue eyes lightening up, softening, and he met Voodoo's red gaze silently. He seemed.. questioning, of something, but not of Mauja's faith in the wolf. At least, his voice agreed, and it seemed to be all that Arathea needed at least, as she proclaimed she would go there in spring and seek to take up her old position. It did surprise him somewhat, though; she had a lot of fur, didn't she? She looked sleeker than Mauja and his rugged winter coat, but wasn't that just because how it fell on her body? And what about next winter? Would she be able to stay in the warm Basin valley, or did she need to hunt on the tundra, and how dangerous would that be to her?

Time will tell, he told himself silently, and nodded. Maybe it would even be for the better. Perhaps all his own mischief would be over by then, so he could be there to greet her, and vouch for her? "If I am not there to greet you, seek out Psyche, Ulrik or d'Artagnan; simply tell them you're a friend of mine," he advised her gently as she huddled in the bitter wind; when she got up to shake, he laughed quietly and stepped out of reach. He could stay warm in winter, but it was harder if he was wet. "I'll see you around," he said by way of parting, watching her go, entranced by the dual emotions: fascination of nature's machinery, and that undercurrent of anxiety that predators brought with them. Once the wolf was away, he turned to Voodoo, looking at him in silence.

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