"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Mazikeen wonders idly what sort of message Gale will give the boy’s mother - the white pegasus that had, understandably, been a little nervous back in Taiga. ‘Ma’ as the yearling had called her. She feels no guilt over taking the son of another mare and means to make the best of it. Gale has Bolder’s attention now and Mazikeen continues to play her part quietly, encouraging looks and smiles that soften her intense eyes.
Bolder tells them of the shapes he’s taken and Mazikeen shines with pride - delighting in each animal he mentions, each attempt that he had taken to learn a little more even when he couldn’t make it here to Hyaline. There was so much that they could teach him here, so many new animals that they could show him so he could learn absolutely everything that he was capable of.
When Gale shifts into a wolf and turns his head to her, she follows suit - quickly becoming a white wolf with ink-black paws. It’s a shape she’s worn often, the first shape she had worn hunting with Daye (though her version of hunting with that rose wolf was vastly different than what she participates in with Gale). She is fond of it, and the combination of this familiarity and Bolder’s innocent eagerness makes the smile in her eyes bright enough that it almost perfectly matches how her smile had been before.
Not having any other words to add, she yips excitedly - the tail behind her wagging much as it had when she had become a dog for Bolder - and encourages him to join them in this shape. Even if it's not perfect, Mazikeen thinks it will mean everything if he tries.
07-07-2021, 08:12 PM (This post was last modified: 07-07-2021, 08:13 PM by bolder.)
Bolder recalls the last moment he had looked at his mother - Noel - and before Gale had teleported them, there had been something shining in her dark eyes that he had never seen before. If he came back to Taiga, would she ever let him leave? His departure had been abrupt but maybe, he thinks as he looks between the shifter pair - his Aunt and Uncle - they might be able to help convince his parents that Hyaline with its pack of shifters could be the best place for him.
He could shift here - learn what he could really do here - and his father didn't have to get upset about it.
An idea that becomes even more tempting when Gale tells the young pegasus that he could do anything here; he hadn't even been allowed to be himself in Taiga.
"Yes," Bolder tells Gale and turns his head in the perlino's direction. His silver gaze softens at the mention of Noel and the color drains away from him, leaving a white pegasus (though his Fjord-like mane stays) before them. His wings extend a little in silent explanation, though his dam had been the only pale one in the trio of horses that had arrived after they did in Taiga. But then the smiling stallion tells him to close his eyes and Bolder looks over to Mazikeen, whose expression seems to encourage him in following what his Uncle asks.
Feeling secure under a seemingly warm and caring gaze, the boy closes his eyes.
The young pegasus imagines what it might feel like to have teeth sharp enough to rip through skin, a svelte shape meant for chasing the wind. He imagines it clear enough in his mind: a chestnut wolf with gold edging trimming his sienna fur. The change is not as quick or swift as he imagines that the wolves can run but with Gale's help, he can concentrate on the shape as he's never been able to before.
With Gale and Mazikeen's help, the boy becomes a wolf.
The young shifter yips excitedly back to the pair in return with his grey eyes glinting like silver steel.
Gale this is going to break me clean in two -- this is going to bring me close to you
He can feel the change in Bolder, the way the light of the boy’s power is constrained now in a smaller lupine shape. He opens his eyes again to see the copper colored young wolf in front of them.
Gale grins, and every one of his ivory teeth glint in the last bits of the sunlight.
“Well done.” He says, and his lightning eyes flash eyes across the young wolf, finding no part of him unchanged. The first two words had been the truth, and the next are certainly not. “A few more weeks without shifting might’ve harmed your development permanently.”
But it hadn’t, his satisfied nod says. Mazikeen will be agreeing as well, Gale is certain, and a glance at the white wolf beside him inspires his next suggestion.
“Mazikeen and I usually go for a run once it gets a little darker.” The glowing wolf says. He gestures north with his muzzle, toward where the forests keep the deepest snow off the fir thick mountainsides.
Their run usually ends in a hunt, and he does not look at Mazikeen when he suggests it. They usually hunt deer, but perhaps he can persuade her to hunt Bolder tonight instead.
“Why don’t you run around as a wolf for a little while, and if you’re feeling up to it you can join us? I’ll tell your mother where you are, and let her know that they’re all welcome to visit you here.” He does a remarkable job at imitating Gale, but it feels uncomfortable, like something that digs at the edges of tongue whenever he uses his brindle host’s voice.
He doesn’t like it, and he is eager to get away so he does not have to do it again. Perhaps Mazikeen will stay, practice with Bolder for a while or show him Hyaline. But Gale glances once at them both and then takes to the sky.
Teleporting three horses had drained a significant amount of his energy and magic, and the Curse intends to recharge before this potential run with the boy. Even if he doesn’t end up joining them (and Gale’s casual tone and expression have made it clear that it’s an invitation that he’s free to decline) there is always the chance that the boy knows more than he pretends.
Families tend to get desperate when he hunts their bloodline long enough, and the Curse wonders as he soars away from Hyaline if Bolder’s kin might already be sending assassins. The boy is a remarkable actor if they are, he thinks with a dark smile.
Mazikeen grins as well to see the chestnut wolf, easily delighted by this victory that belongs, in different ways, to all three of them. She continues to play her part, finding it easier now, and nods more solemnly when Gale continues, mentioning that Bolder’s development might have been harmed permanently if he had gone longer without shifting.
Certainly, there is no way that could be true but it wasn’t entirely false either - the more Bolder practiced, the better he would be, and the longer he went without doing so the harder it would become. Slivers of truth hidden in lies.
She finds that while hearing the old Gale’s voice is uncomfortable, it only bothers her because she knows it is false (some lies are easier to handle - the difference being who is on the receiving end). There is a different accent, filled with different inflections, that she’s become used to and has grown to favour. And Mazikeen wonders what this version of Gale has planned for that run.
Before she can think about it too much, he’s growing wings and taking off. Mazikeen is momentarily annoyed that he leaves her with Bolder. How convenient that Gale had been the one to want to steal the yearling and yet she is the one left to look after him. Perhaps she could leave too, but Mazikeen wants to make sure Bolder feels comfortable here - that’s key to getting him to stay of his own free will. If he wishes to explore on his own she will leave him to do so but until then she will make some effort to be helpful in whatever way she can.
So after watching Gale disappear into the sky, Mazikeen looks over at her young friend with a grin and asks “Well, Bolder? What do you feel like doing?” They had, after all, told him he could do anything here - so the choice is up to him.
07-14-2021, 01:48 PM (This post was last modified: 07-14-2021, 01:50 PM by bolder.)
It's his first true shift. Bolder had only attempted it a few times in Taiga and even then, the winged boy had done it in the concealing shadows of its mighty trees. Before this moment with Mazikeen and Gale, it had always been about quickly he could change and then how fast he could change back. The young pegasi had become adept with the speed that he could facilitate those changes - trading hooves for paws, abandoning his sienna feathers for something with fur - but he lacked precision.
And more importantly, he lacked any kind of skill when it came to these borrowed skins. All Bolder knew was how to shift and then promptly shift back, let alone what do in them.
The boy is good at replicating others; he tries mirroring Gale's smile and throws a half-wild grin at Mazikeen. His auburn ears twitch atop his head as he glances between the two other wolves and listens as his Uncle explains that he had only been weeks away from losing this gift. (Had that been what his father had wanted, Bolder wonders? For him to learn his power from Mazikeen to hide it, so that he would eventually lose it?)
His grin falters and the lanky wolf sits quietly, processing the thought.
He would be invited to run with them later, Gale says. Not a command or kingly proclamation. It is his relatives giving him another choice. To be whatever he wishes here, to do as he pleases. Perhaps it's the first throes of adolescence, but it fuels the fires of Bolder's growing desire for independence. The expression on his face grows hopeful, that he would like to join them.
There is more to this craft than just sinking into skin and Bolder thinks that Gale and Maze might be able to show him how a wolf should run. The timbre they use for calling the moon.
The last beams of sunlight fade from Hyaline's forest and his Uncle heads for the sky, leaving the yearling with admiration shining through his silver eyes. Someday, he might be able to shift from wolf to eagle to... anything he might imagine. The possibilities seem as endless as the horizon looming above Bolder and his aunt, Mazikeen. "I don't know...," answers the coltish-looking wolf. He's never had so many choices before and it feels almost overwhelming. His vulpine head tilts towards Maze and his dark nose fills with a thousand scents - the Alpha before him, the damp ground, a faint whiff of Gale, the dank scent of water, and something... something else. Something different.
Something new.
"Do you," his silver eyes start to dance along the dark forest and the young wolf rises with his head lifting curiously toward the scent. "Do you smell that?" Bolder asks his Aunt.
Mazikeen is trying to think of ideas for what they can do while waiting for later tonight to meet up with Gale as she watches Bolder sniff at the air - presumably getting used to the enhanced senses that come with this form. Fortunately, his question provides a direction. When Mazikeen breathes in, there are dozens of scents but there’s one that causes her mouth to begin watering. “Rabbit.” She says simply, her orange eyes following his to the line of the trees before drifting back to the chestnut wolf.
“Come on, let’s see if we can find it - get some practice moving around with paws instead of hooves.” She pauses though, trying to remember the things she used to care about - the things that Bolder might. So she adds “We don’t have to hurt it or anything.” Her stomach disagrees with this statement but she can easily encourage the yearling to nap before they run with Gale later, and then she will find this rabbit for a second time. While her thoughts drift in that direction, she finds herself watching for Bolder’s reaction and explaining a little more “I used to love hunting the animals here just to see if I could catch them before letting them go - I haven't had the chance to do it in a while.” She adds this last bit with a small grin, offering the idea but still feeling it important to let Bolder decide ultimately whether he would like to or not.
She is curious, though, whether his instincts will kick in differently. Mazikeen always had too much heart before, she couldn’t stand the idea of hurting something even when she was dressed in wicked shapes. Would Bolder be the same? She’s curious, and no longer resents Gale for leaving her with their nephew because now she can find out.
07-18-2021, 02:46 PM (This post was last modified: 07-18-2021, 02:51 PM by bolder.)
Bolder has seen rabbits before but this pungent scent is not something he recalls.
Have they always smelled this way?
His dark nose keeps lifting into the night air, tilting this way and that as he tries to get a better direction on the smell. One pointed ear flicks back to his Aunt before his tail begins to quietly wag in eager anticipation of what might come next. Bolder had found his first lesson in shifting with Mazikeen exciting; he does not doubt that his second will be equally (if not more) so. The yearling pup starts to move towards the treeline, trying to think of how a wolf was supposed to move.
This shape has short legs and the ground is much closer than it has ever been. Having paws instead of hooves is an odd sensation as he tries moving softly over the new-fallen snow. The young shifter turns his silver eyes back on Maze every so often, watching her with a sharp stare. There is a moment of surprise when she mentions that they wouldn't have to hurt the rabbit. It hadn't occurred to him that they would and yet Bolder - having never any real amount of time with other shapeshifters - realized that he didn't know what they did when they became other creatures.
He had never let himself think about it.
With his ears flicking atop his head, Bolder focused on listening for the rabbit. He could smell it - the scent much clearer now that the Alpha had explained it to him - and his padded feet itched to move towards it. Mazikeen hunted them and then let them go, she explains. That makes sense, the boy (somewhat naively) thinks. At the end of it all, they are still just horses. He's never eaten anything other than the forage that grows in Taiga. And what the pale wolf tells him confirms what Bolder has always thought of his Aunt: that she would never willingly hurt anything.
The smells, the sounds, the instinct now singing in his magical blood - these are all new things to Bolder. "Do you think we can still catch it?" he asks in a hushed voice. (He doesn't doubt Maze's hunting skills but he is inexperienced. The young ward doesn't doubt that he could cost them their quarry.) Continuing to think a whole trail of thoughts, another comes to the forefront of his mind. The treeline would make it hard to find the rabbit; even harder to run after it. "Maybe we could drive it out," the young wolf considers, his youthful expression brightening with determination and the thrill of the chase as he looks to Mazikeen.
It’s fascinating, watching someone new to shifting experience things for the first time. Mazikeen has felt disconnected from her younger self, the one that would spend every single day seeing what new animal she could mimic and the behaviours she could pick up. She’d once thought she’d get to experience this with her own children, but Malik and Sickle are off being taught and cared for by someone else now.
Bolder has only been here in Hyaline for a short time, but she finds that she wants him to stay. She wants to see what he can grow up into under their care.
She moves with him towards the treeline, taking extra care to slow her movements so they can more easily be watched and mimicked. She keeps part of her attention on where she believes the rabbit is, a soft rustling of leaves just inside of the treeline giving it away, and the rest on Bolder - noting how he adjusts his movements for this new shape. And she offers him a smile that comes a little easier - approval radiating in her bright eyes.
When he asks if they’ll still be able to catch it, she whispers back “Oh yeah, I have no doubt.” One way or another, she’ll make sure that they do. And then to his suggestion of driving it out, that grin of her widens. She takes care to keep it soft and warm, to not let the predatory gleam shine through, as she praises the suggestion. “That idea is perfect. I’ll go into the woods and spook it out, you get ready to catch.” It may be clumsy, but again she thinks that all that matters is that he will try and he is willing to learn.
She circles around, taking care not to make any sound, and even darkens her coat to a deep black as she disappears into the woods. Rabbits are flighty creatures and though they could still track it if it took off further into the forest, she'd prefer to chase it towards the waiting youth. Mazikeen sees it - them, a pair of young-looking rabbits. A yip serves as both her warning to Bolder and to startle the rabbits - one of them bolting right out into the open while the other detours. She follows the one out but without hurrying - letting Bolder follow his instincts first but being nearby if he needs her.
07-25-2021, 03:20 PM (This post was last modified: 07-25-2021, 03:24 PM by bolder.)
Bolder crouches lower to the ground and begins to move slower, lifting each limb more carefully than the last.
He's never done any of this before and yet he finds that it is so easy to succumb to instinct. The adolescent continues to look towards Mazikeen for guidance - as the Alpha and the more experienced shifter - but each step that he takes towards the shrubs is more sure than the last.
The chestnut wolf even slows his breath, making sure that he remains silent and downwind from the rabbit that Maze had trotted off after. His silver eyes fix on the brambles and branches, peering through the shades of green for any sign of movement. He can feel his nerves lighting up and the young shapeshifter wants to move.
He wants to chase.
He wants to -
No, Bolder tells himself. It was one thing to wear the skin of a wolf. But he was not a wolf and the rabbit they catch will be let go, as Mazikeen had said. One sienna ear pricks towards the sound of the Alpha's yip and the boy rocks back on his haunches, ready to spring into a run at the first of the rabbit bursting into the open meadow. It passes by him as Bolder reaches to grab it but it doesn't deter him. The young wolf sprints after the small creature, opening his stride as the rabbit quickens its pace. There is only so much space in this meadow and Bolder can sense that if the rabbit makes it back to the trees, he will lose his chance to catch it.
Spurring himself forward (though he keeps wondering about the Alpha - where is she?), Bolder finally leaps and catches the mammal between his sharp teeth. It screams loudly and the moon-marked wolf bites down in surprise, until the thing no longer moves at all.
After she chases the rabbit out, Mazikeen moves more slowly - her red-orange eyes bright with interest as she watches Bolder. A smile forms when he does not give up after the rabbit passes him by. She’s never watched someone else hunt (well, other than Gale - and that is quite a different spectacle) and she pays no attention to any fumbles. As few of them as there are, anyway.
As with everything tonight, all Mazikeen sees is that he is trying - and that is perfect. She moves through the meadow once Bolder has caught the rabbit - congratulations on her tongue in the split second before the rabbit screams and the chestnut wolf bites down, silencing it and silencing the words she would have used.
His first kill? She thinks it’s likely. Unless he’s accidentally done it before. She’s pretty sure this is an accident too, it’s too much to hope just yet that he already has a taste for it. It takes her a moment to try to figure out what to say, trying to remember the role she is playing. She doesn’t look at the rabbit even though the scent of it's blood is driving her wild. Mazikeen's white snout reaches out slowly, an offer to take it from him. All while her mind tells her she'll place it gently on the ground and not swallow it right here in front of him. She is watching Bolder's eyes, watching for his reaction, as she then asks quietly - like she is a concerned aunt “Are you alright?”
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