anyone;

[Castile]

and underneath the layers, I find myself asking what's left
a hollowed out form, the skeleton of a ghost, the pitiful echo of what once was

A deep breath fills Castile’s lungs. It’s heavy with moisture from the melted snow having seeped into the leaf beds. He swallows, suppressing the hunger that rises in his stomach.
 
(Hunt. We must hunt)
Not yet.
 
In the darkness, far from prying eyes, Castile has released his grip on the sorrel skin so that he may rest his mind. It has happened only once here in Taiga, the few other times being in the other forests when he hid himself well enough. This weighs on his conscience; part of him regrets lying to the boy. It wasn’t meant to last more than that conversation, more than that single day, but he enjoyed the airy conversation with Nash enough to acquiesce to his invitation. So, here he is, living as a sorrel gelding in Taiga.
 
What started as an escape from politics ended with a riptide pulling him into a whirlpool of it. He couldn’t fight the undertow. Taiga will be quiet, he thought. It will grant him time away in solitude.
 
Why don’t we give Taiga to Rocky?
 
The question teases the edges of his thoughts, and Castile shakes his head. This isn’t what he wanted, but he is already too far in. Defend the leaders, his conscious says. Defy Lepis and her family’s ambitions (perhaps spiteful of him given recent circumstances, but…) and play the devil’s advocate to Elio’s claim. Watch how the chaos and disruption plays out. Part of him pities the boy, but only because Castile has experienced a similar predicament. He is familiar with the rejection and with the drive to attain what others stand in the way of. But oh, how fun it is to be on this side of the court.
 
Arriving to the southern river, Castile takes pause. He looks down into the water and observes the reflection of himself for the first time. This isn’t him – so bland, so boring – but he forces himself to embrace it for now, at least until the churning waters finally settle here in Taiga.

 

castile

a post because my in-laws are no longer here staying with us, and because i don't feel like working lol