A feeling of disbelief washed over Maxus-El as he heard that voice, endearing and abrasively optimistic at the same time. So very familiar, though he'd never heard it using the English language before. Being fair, he'd never personally spoken the language until earlier that day, himself.

If it were physically possible to do so, Maxus seemed to stand [i]even straighter[/i] than his aristocratically groomed posture offered. A streak of honest emotion he didn't bother trying to bury cascaded over him. It was elation. Despite having just met the young prince, one might note with surprise that his face did not rupture as a grin was made manifest, so seldom he must make use of a happy expression.

He turned to face the voice, giving a quarter-second to reach out to her mentally, the lightest brush confirming his assertion. Not that he needed to, really. She was unmistakable enough. Involuntarily, Maxus took a step forward while raising his arms as if to begin an embrace, before remembering his upbringing and their situation. Instead, he tried to cover for his action by reaching to grasp one of Starfire's hands. A fairly formal gesture; he bowed, placing his forehead against the back of her hand, and rose with diplomatic greeting. 

"It is an honor and pleasure to receive you, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran. And quite too long, if I may be presumptuous. I am, as always, at my Lady's service." 

His smile, genuine but just a bit suppressed now, continued. Reaching out to Starfire's surface thoughts, Maxus-El telepathically intoned in Star's native Tamaranian, [i]"Does anyone here know about..."[/i] as he gave the slightest of hand gestures, once to her and once to himself. 

"You are certainly looking well, Kori." he continued verbally, and in his recently acquired English. "What is happening here? I have questions, many questions... And we have catching up to do, when time permits." 

Certain realizations, unshared among the group, dawned on the displaced prince. He took stock of his surroundings and shut down any trace of emotion on his face. Maxus was in the company of the Princess of Tamaran and a red, fuzzy neophyte with his biological father's crest outlined across his chest. There were likely others in the shelters around them. He was in the middle of a warzone with his only means of reliably getting offworld many miles away. His father, the initial purpose of his travel, was supposedly lost to the entity that razed his homeworld. Did Maxima know about all of this? Was she aware Koriand'r would be here? Was this her true motivation for sending him to this planet? 

Maxus-El, First Prince of Almerac, may have found another compelling reason to stick it out.