[private] what a shame, saffron

[bolder]

Bolder peers into his brother's green eyes and for the first time since leaving the Taiga, he feels homesick. Noel had come to Hyaline over the years, always bringing him news of Saffron and Bravely, letting him know that his older sisters had finally ventured out into the world, that he had a younger brother. It had always seemed like enough to Bolder; he never felt compelled to return to the place that he had felt cast out of.

His siblings were alive and making their own way in the world, just as he was.

But those lost years suddenly feel like a punch to the gut. There had been a price to pay, and the shapeshifter sees it clearly now. Gone are the gangly lines of adolescence and the high-pitched tenor of their youth. Saffron rasps out his name and alarm crosses his dark feline face. It’s a ripple of shadow, a subtle shift in the light, and suddenly there is a copper pegasus where there had been a predator only moments before (more proof of their separation, of the years away, because as a youngling, Bolder could never even dream of what he achieves now).

Glancing over his brother, he takes note of the other more worrisome changes. The white, branch-like things that sprout from between Saffron’s shoulders, that creep along his neck and towards his face. His brother frowns and there is a mirror reflection of Bolder’s moon-marked face, nearly identical. Unsure of what to immediately say, he offers a confirmation to the other pegasus’ question. "Saffron.”

@Saffron