Gale
this is going to break me clean in two --
this is going to bring me close to you
The Curse’s methods are threats and violence, and he considers these possibilities even as he waits for Mazikeen to talk to the boy, even as the boy grows curious, as he asks about the Curse. Perhaps her methods are working after all
“Why don’t you stay for a while,” He suggests, slipping back into the role of the boy’s Uncle that he had played so well for years. “We’ll teach you a few things, and then you can decide if you want to stay longer, to learn more about what you’re capable of.” He’ll choose the latter, Gale knows, and if he doesn’t Gale will choose it for him.
He’s smiling at the image a second time when Mazikeen whispers something in his ear. He grins, and nods, and says to Bolder: ”The Curse is power.” The lightning pulls away from his chest, the search complete. The boy is vulnerable. His magic is simple: bright, winged, and with a celestial brilliance not unlike Ciri’s stars. Shapeshifting is his only defense, and while Bolder has mastered a broad array of animals, he lacks a depth of knowledge of those shifts.
“I have it, and they are afraid, and perhaps they should be. Too busy to allow you to be yourself?” Gale shakes his head at the excuse, as though the burdens of monarchy are small and Nashua has somehow failed young Bolder by instead keeping the entire realm protected and safe.
He watches the boy grow broader, then taller, and recognizes the efforts for what they are. “Impressive,” he says cooly, as though the boy’s ability to change his appearance at will is not a wonderfully useful attribute. Perhaps his parents will not find him when they come to fetch him, Gale thinks.
If all goes well, perhaps he might even have Bolder drive them away.
“What’s the largest you have become?” Asks the creature who is made of change and misery, who slips into skins and shapes with the ease of centuries of practice. “And the smallest?”
@Mazikeen
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current appearance: glowing perlino stallion with feathered quetzalcoatl forelimbs, lightning, and iridescent navy blue scarring
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Gale
