Mazikeen stays quiet when Bolder huffs in frustration, though a corner of her mouth twitches up in a knowing smile. She’s pretty sure she knows exactly what he’s feeling because she’s felt it too when her shifting did not cooperate with whatever she was trying to do. She watches as he glares at himself and she can see him focus - see the concentration take over and she is not faking the smile that grows when almost all him is a sunny yellow except for his points. She nods her approval - it is absolutely an improvement on the unconscious rippling of colours across the colt’s coat.
At Bolder’s question, her expression turns thoughtful as she considers it. How did she decide? Sometimes she let her shifting choose for her - like it filled in the blanks. That was how she had discovered the Haast’s eagle, and the smilodon she had recently become quite fond. But that is not exactly a helpful answer. “Well, one of the fun things about being able to control it more, is you don’t have to stick with your choice. You can change as often as you like to whatever you can think of.” She shapeshifts then, becoming an obscenely pink cat. Any annoyance at being so small at the moment is eased by how comfortable she feels with Nashua and his son (and the fact that this shape has needle-like claws).
They could be her family, she thinks. The twins could grow up knowing their cousins and more blood relatives than Mazikeen had ever thought possible. They'd have the pack and so much more. It is surprising to feel that she would like that future. But also, if it were safer for the twins to be away from their parents, she wonders if Nashua and his family would take them in.
Mazikeen stops herself from drifting on these darkening thoughts as she continues. “And one of the fun things about practicing is you can try them all. It’s never felt like work to me, trying to control my shifting. I enjoyed trying new shapes, new sizes, new colours. I still do. And then you’ll discover favourites as you practice too.”
She tilts her feline head to the side, her orange eyes moving between Bolder and his father - either one of them could answer her next question. “Has it only been colours so far?” There was nothing wrong with it being just colours, of course, but she is curious if there is more to it.
@[Nashua]