Raum had never been rebuked in his life. Instead of embarrassment for the too-loud voice, he felt anger blossom in his narrow breast, and the brightness of his expression dulled, the grin little more than a snaggle-toothed grimace. Shh? Shh? The golden boy knew little of temperance and found he disliked it immeasurably. He had no understanding of restraint or of discretion. Popinjay had not seen fit to teach him these things, she barely tolerated them herself and passing such a lesson on to the twins would have required significantly more self-control than she was apt to practice. His muzzle wrinkled between tense nostrils, his small ears slung backwards where the stiff feathers of his mane tickled them and threatened to draw the laughter out again, but he managed to hold this rigid, resentful air about him as he followed Malik back towards the lake.
The other boy hardly seemed to notice and Raum's fury burned itself off into red coals of indignation that were unequal to the draw of his curiosity. Much like moderation, his mother also told him little of the entities, but he was familiar with them anyway. Had he not slept beneath the warmth of the burning tree and seen vague pictures there that echoed his shadow theater? Had he not pressed his nose to the jagged, bloodied stone shoulder? (Alas, he had no violent deeds to his name to gift him wings or horn, and so gained nothing but pain by cutting his lips upon it.) He couldn't hold it any longer, the anger fell away to ash.
"Wait, what do you mean?" His tense steps had caused him to fall behind, forcing him to bound forward abruptly to catch up, "What do you mean get? I've been living under them for weeks and I didn't ever get nothing."
He had also never thought to ask them for anything, and even now managed to avoid the idea entirely. His lips were still turned down, but instead of irritation, confusion had overtaken him. Raum hadn't gotten a thing from the entities. It was galling to think that this colt he'd never seen before today knew more about them than Malik himself did.
"I want a lightning aura, too!"
Wouldn't Parish be surprised! Oh! But he would prefer that she not know where he got it from, it would be more fun as a secret. Before Malik could hush him again, Raum's eager voice dropped to a conspiratorial level.
"How?"
The other boy hardly seemed to notice and Raum's fury burned itself off into red coals of indignation that were unequal to the draw of his curiosity. Much like moderation, his mother also told him little of the entities, but he was familiar with them anyway. Had he not slept beneath the warmth of the burning tree and seen vague pictures there that echoed his shadow theater? Had he not pressed his nose to the jagged, bloodied stone shoulder? (Alas, he had no violent deeds to his name to gift him wings or horn, and so gained nothing but pain by cutting his lips upon it.) He couldn't hold it any longer, the anger fell away to ash.
"Wait, what do you mean?" His tense steps had caused him to fall behind, forcing him to bound forward abruptly to catch up, "What do you mean get? I've been living under them for weeks and I didn't ever get nothing."
He had also never thought to ask them for anything, and even now managed to avoid the idea entirely. His lips were still turned down, but instead of irritation, confusion had overtaken him. Raum hadn't gotten a thing from the entities. It was galling to think that this colt he'd never seen before today knew more about them than Malik himself did.
"I want a lightning aura, too!"
Wouldn't Parish be surprised! Oh! But he would prefer that she not know where he got it from, it would be more fun as a secret. Before Malik could hush him again, Raum's eager voice dropped to a conspiratorial level.
"How?"
Raum*
in every bird a black thought
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+413 =1184
Please tag ratty or Raum* (<--with the asterisk) in threads!