[private] I'm coming so start running

[Mazikeen]

m a z i k e e n . As soon as she sees him, Mazikeen wonders why she hasn’t sought out Spirit before. Had she been so wrapped up in her own self-made problems that she forgot who else in Hyaline grieved for the losses of Sochi and Breach more than she? It was an uncomfortable but likely thing - last year had seen too many changes, too many rockslides that took the ground out from underneath her hooves. Or had it just seemed like too much to face his grief when she was still wrestling with her own? Whatever her excuse was, it no longer felt good enough. Her mind begins to drift, begins to wonder what else she is neglecting, but Mazikeen is getting better at shutting out the thoughts she doesn’t want to deal with. They join the growing noise inside her mind, a constant roar of everything she isn’t letting herself think about so she will not crumble. So it’s without much thought or consideration that she moves forward. As she draws close, she shifts into a cat and climbs on top of a nearby boulder to greet him. Like she still remembers the filly who had chased him (accidentally, it could’ve been any old guinea pig), like she is still that wild and carefree. A glimmer of a smile does appear, though, as she sits and a black-tipped tail curls around her paws. Her orange eyes bright in the white face of this shape. “Hey, Spirit.”

 

@[spirit] <3 ok only took me 15 years to get this started

[spirit]

i was alone, falling free, trying my best not to forget.

He has been alone for so long that he almost forgets how to pronounce friendship. But the warm feeling comes bubbling up once he sees her, and he manages a smile all the same. Spirit turns from the path he had been on and continues instead toward her and the rock she perches on. Just for old times sake, he humps her and takes on the form of a tiny guinea pig. His nose twitches up at her. He gives a soft bweep.

When he resumes his natural shape, he is laughing and the expression makes his cheeks ache from disuse. His bright eyes search her curiously for scars or fresh wounds, unabashed. He wonders what became of her when she was gone, wonders who had done it. It felt an awful lot like when he found Sochi mangled back then. The only difference is Mazikeen came back.

“What are you up to, Maze?” he asks as his smile calms to a faint grin. It’s unclear if he means this moment or in general, her life or Hyaline’s. But he does not elaborate and chooses instead to let her answer it however she sees fit. Spirit has never been one to pry. He just comes running when it seems like someone needs his help.

“The world is a wilder place than when we were young. Or maybe it was always this way,” he muses with a shrug of his dark shoulder.

@Mazikeen

[Mazikeen]

m a z i k e e n . Her faint smile quickly turns to easy, quiet laughter when Spirit humours her, shifting into a small guinea pig and making what might be one of her favourite animal noises with a soft bweep - which only encourages the laughter to burst forth in a way that is refreshing. It is easy to forget everything in this small, innocent moment. A reminder of when she had just been a fierce little filly whose only concern was finding out what the fat little rodent she was chasing was or what shape she’ll be able to try next. She follows suit, changing from cat to horse and that is when her laughter fades - remembering the scars. It’s with effort that she does not shift in her stance. She’s always worn her scars proudly, willing to tell the story of the monster she had fought on Islandres or the time she had saved Selaphiel and made a new friend. But now there are new stories, harsher stories, written on her skin. But Spirit is her friend, and she will not shy away from his bright gaze and curiosity. When he asks a question, it is not about her new scars - he asks what she's up to. She shakes her head and maintains the smile with some effort, attempting light humour in her voice. “Nothing good.” The truth of these words cause the false smile to slip for a brief moment, where her orange eyes shine with grief, before she can force it back into place - unwilling to ruin this reunion that is automatically already clouded with the weight of those who are not here. It is easier to bring the smile back when he continues, musing about the past, though some of the sadness remains. “I like to think it is wilder now. Gives me something to miss - back when things were easier.” but even this reminiscing feels like it might slip out of her grasp and drag her deeper into thoughts she does not want to have. So Mazikeen focuses her bright gaze on her striped friend and asks "What about you, Spirit? What are you up to?"

 

@spirit