[open] don't come find me; any

[Gale]

i hear the wicked get no rest, but when you do ---------- i hope you dream of me There is no caution on the mare’s silver face, no suspicion at the forefront of her mind as she regards Gale with a soft smile and easy questions. So she does not know, he realizes. She has not been told to be wary of him, and the delight of continuous anonymity brings a pleased smile to the blue-eyed creature’s face, one that goes well with his bright eyes. He needs to make sure she remains unaware, Gale decides. Perhaps he’ll keep her a while, he thinks, and see how many dark things he can pull from that bright face. “I do live here,” he tells her, “I came to visit, and it was emptier than Islandres. I decided to stick around, to see what I could do with the place.” That is mostly true. He’s been doing his best to drive the few remaining residents out. “Is this a stop on your way back to Islandres?” He asks, and there is nothing but curiosity in his bright eyes. The cursed creature has made itself an inextricable part of Gale, and his approximation of the brindle stallion is flawless. It must be, to fool someone who had know the blue horse before he’d been Cursed. What could he do with Divest, he wonders? He’ll keep her in Tephra, he has already decided. Had she any skills? Color changing, he recalls, which is little use. But had there been something else? He wants to ask but knows better, so instead searches for any visible sign - scales or scorched earth at her hooves or the glow of magic. His blue eyes slide down her neck, the shade of green reminiscent of the soft leaves of the succulents that grew along the canyons of Loess, and then along the curve of her bare shoulder where no wings grow. Divest’s skin is unmarked with scars and though Gale matches thanks to the waterfall, he finds her lack of injuries somehow offputting. He’ll give her some, he decides, or set her up to receive them. He has been staring - as Gale always has - for long enough. He recalls, at the very last moment, to don a faint look of abashment at his wandering eyes when he meets hers again.  GALE

@Divest