Gale
this is going to break me clean in two --
this is going to bring me close to you
Unaware of her building suspicions, the Curse feels at ease. He’s successfully put her off the topic, and she’s back to reassuring what she thinks is Gale. Maybe it’ll plateau a bit, Mazikeen says, and the Curse smiles against her soft fur. “Maybe.” It repeats, making sure that the tone is less hopeful than her own words.
It nods in reply to her offer, and meets her orange gaze with Gale’s bright eyes. Gale stirs, recognizing for the first time that he’s not himself, but he stirs slowly.
The Curse, which is often thinking of glory, suggests the name of a king: “Malik,” after a quiet moment of contemplation. “For a boy. And Mazikeen for a girl.” Then it laughs, amused at the thought of replacing Mazikeen as Alpha with Mazikeen her daughter, a child that answers to the Curse. Very funny indeed, the Curse thinks, as amused by its own sense of humor as Gale had been by his.
But it will seem as though Gale laughs about the silliness of sharing a name, and that meshes with the way he affectionately butts his head against Mazikeen’s shoulder. As it does, the Curse shifts, changing smoothly from a canine to a feline, the same white-maned blue lion that Gale has worn before.
Pressing against her, the Curse purrs, the sound a low rumble in its leonine throat. She enjoys being reminded of Gale’s affection, it knows, and the vocal big cat makes his pleasure obvious. Yet despite the speed of his shift, the Curse makes sure its movements are slow, because it plays the part of a weary Gale and it knows better than to tempt fate.
“I don’t feel like I got much sleep,” it reminds her. “Will you lay down with me?” The bed of thick grass where they’d begun the night is empty, but the lion pads toward it, dropping its weight and rolling over so it can look up at Mazikeen.
The position feels uncomfortable, its belly bared to something that the Curse knows is a genuine threat. But Gale wouldn’t think twice about it, and being like Gale is more important than being comfortable at this point in the con.
@[Mazikeen]
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