[private] its harder than you think, mazikeen

[bolder]

Though Bolder was growing older - filling into his bulky frame and his wide auburn wings - there will never be an age that he will not want his aunt’s approval. There will always be something of that moon-marked boy within him that had needed acceptance and understanding, that had found it in Hyaline with Mazikeen and Gale. The striped pegasus thinks he has grown into a capable enough shifter (though his powers aren’t as great as his mentors nor some of his cousins), but Bolder thinks himself certainly capable.

Possibly even more than capable.

But with Mazikeen, there will always be this earnest-eyed glance. A want for her happiness and to do his part for Hyaline to repay for the education and the bonds that he has been gifted. And perhaps he hadn’t made it out of the reign when darkness had ruled both his aunt and uncle. Because much of how Bolder views the world comes from the perspective of the animals that he shifts into.

A distracted hare is easily snatched by the hawk. An injured deer is easily taken down by the pack. And for the wolf that hunts alone, nothing comes easily.

It might have been easier for Bolder to sever the ties that he had made here. His recent encounter with his brother Saffron was a reminder of how deeply family could wound. That there were still old hurts that he had tucked away, and refused to acknowledge. As he glances at Mazikeen, it makes the young stallion keenly aware of exactly how grateful he is.

There could never be any other home for him but Hyaline.

He smiles softly, lopsided and boyish. A remnant of the colt that he had once been and a visible promise that there would always be a trace of him for Mazikeen to find.

"I've always been grateful that you allowed me to stay," Bolder tells her truthfully.

@Mazikeen