we'll never get free, lamb to the slaughter
It’s strange to hear her name on her own tongue, much less the tongue of a stranger, especially one who happens to be a veritable child. Being alone for so long has left her ears sour to the sounds and voices of others. Or maybe it’s only hearing her name that is the problem. Hearing it reminds her of the few that could name her. Hearing it reminds her that they are all still dead or missing.
The act of pushing away those stormcloud thoughts should be a mighty task, but she finds it is easier, somehow, around the boy.
Halcyon says he is exploring, and she quirks a brow curiously. The meadow is safer than most places, she supposes, but the unofficial ceasefire of the shared land is not always upheld. The mare shifts her amber gaze to the horses milling about them. Even the heat of the summer doesn’t deter them from coming in vast numbers. The ever-changing blur of bodies from all corners of Beqanna makes it the perfect place to hide in plain sight. Anything could happen to an earnest and eager colt. Titanya had warned Ander of the dangers of coming here. And while she hadn’t blocked her nephew from exploring, she had made sure he knew of every precaution he should take. She wants to impart the same knowledge on Halcyon, but she realizes it is not her place. It is not her responsibility to shatter whatever perfect, crystal world he’s likely grown up in.
Time will do that for him instead.
She turns back to her young, would-be charge when he speaks again. There is an undercurrent of unbridled enthusiasm to his words that seems fit to burst. Catching birds? My my, what do we have here? What mere horse can catch birds, after all? The tigress stirs within her at the first true piquing of her interest. Titanya shifts her weight from one side to the other to expend some of the energy that rises – yet unused – into her limbs. She’s antsy to know the truth of it, but she borrows some predatory patience and smiles again.
“Birds, eh?” She tilts her head towards the sky as if considering it. “Give me a nice plump rabbit any day. Birds are so bony and not much meat on them for the amount of effort it takes.” Titanya realizes what he’s said only a second after she’s already happily prattled on about her own kills. Oops. Well, so much for not shattering that crystal. “Wait, you don’t eat them?” Her gaze narrows and hardens on the younger boy. “Ok, now listen. I don’t believe in stepping in and being your mother – that’s her job – but you should at least eat what you kill. It’s only right. She should have taught you that already.” Letting him continue killing for fun is only fostering the next murderer in their midst.
Beqanna certainly has no shortage of those.
The sabino huffs, her piece said. The misunderstanding is lost on her for the moment, but she is glad he never considered eating her at least. Perhaps they can still be friends. Maybe she will show him the secret beneath her skin if he does the same. “What are you, anyways? Not just a boy, I’d wager.”
what you gon' do when there's blood in the water?
@[Halcyon]