Mazikeen
His flat reply to her not-great-joke stings and she bites back in a fierce tone, a few cracks of light flickering on her coat but they fade quickly. This is not true anger - just annoyance and determination. “It won’t torture me forever. I’ll take care of it. I promised you I would, Gale.” Not yet, though, and maybe he can sense that for now, she hesitates. Not even hesitates - she won’t consider it until she has to, until she knows for sure there’s no going back. And until then, she was going to do whatever she could to end the curse in other ways. Because even though Mazikeen still believes she’ll find a way to fulfill her promise - issues with his healing and shapeshifting yet to be sorted out - she wants to save Gale too. She wants to give him the future he was robbed of.
Whether that was by giving the children over to the curse or through some other way, she doesn’t know anymore. Those are thoughts to sort out another time. Something to fill up her watchful hours until spring arrives and she needs to make her decision.
Stubborn to a fault, she meets his resignation with her hope. “I believe it is you.” She will not explain that based on her last interaction with it, she does not think the Curse could resist taunting her if it was in control right now. And she has seen no signs yet that it has not kept to their bargain - so maybe she had done a successful job at selling their children. It would be far smarter to question him but that is not how Mazikeen wants to spend the rest of their seconds. She thinks it worth the risk, even if this does end up being false. At least she tried. At least she wasn’t hiding in the shadows.
Mazikeen had known where this was going to end but that doesn't make it any easier to hear Gale admit that he doesn't have much time and these last few seasons aren't nearly what she hoped they'd have when he had first arrived in Hyaline. She'd promised to cherish every second but she was selfish and wanted years.
When Gale hisses sharply in pain, she moves forward again instinctively. She brushes her muzzle against his cheek and then his neck before embracing him. All thoughts that she should tell him about what the Curse is waiting for fade away because she’s no longer sure that is the best plan. So she just breathes in his scent and when she exhales into his skin she asks quietly “Will you spend today with me?”
One last good day, she doesn’t say, but she thinks he’ll understand anyway. While his headache is gone and his mind is as clear as it’s likely to ever be again, what better chance are they going to get? She’s going to fight for more, for that future with him, but for now... one more day of good memories before the sun goes down and takes him from her.
Whether that was by giving the children over to the curse or through some other way, she doesn’t know anymore. Those are thoughts to sort out another time. Something to fill up her watchful hours until spring arrives and she needs to make her decision.
Stubborn to a fault, she meets his resignation with her hope. “I believe it is you.” She will not explain that based on her last interaction with it, she does not think the Curse could resist taunting her if it was in control right now. And she has seen no signs yet that it has not kept to their bargain - so maybe she had done a successful job at selling their children. It would be far smarter to question him but that is not how Mazikeen wants to spend the rest of their seconds. She thinks it worth the risk, even if this does end up being false. At least she tried. At least she wasn’t hiding in the shadows.
Mazikeen had known where this was going to end but that doesn't make it any easier to hear Gale admit that he doesn't have much time and these last few seasons aren't nearly what she hoped they'd have when he had first arrived in Hyaline. She'd promised to cherish every second but she was selfish and wanted years.
When Gale hisses sharply in pain, she moves forward again instinctively. She brushes her muzzle against his cheek and then his neck before embracing him. All thoughts that she should tell him about what the Curse is waiting for fade away because she’s no longer sure that is the best plan. So she just breathes in his scent and when she exhales into his skin she asks quietly “Will you spend today with me?”
One last good day, she doesn’t say, but she thinks he’ll understand anyway. While his headache is gone and his mind is as clear as it’s likely to ever be again, what better chance are they going to get? She’s going to fight for more, for that future with him, but for now... one more day of good memories before the sun goes down and takes him from her.
@[Gale]