Gale
this is going to break me clean in two --
this is going to bring me close to you
Gale returns Mazikeen’s kiss without a second thought, and smiles as she pulls away. He had not given any thought to how things might be different when they were no longer alone, and in that moment he is comforted to know that she, too, might be feeling that they are already working on their balance. Gale’s knowledge of the public behavior of couples is limited to his parents, after all, and he is pointedly trying not to think of them.
Tiercel’s teasing is a welcome distraction, and Gale dramatically rolls his eyes. The way that Tiercel moves is familiar, and the sight of it brings an unconscious smile to Gale’s features. That is their father’s bravado, and Pteron’s too. Gale had not inherited it; he has never swaggered anywhere. It’s hard to think while swaggering about, and the brindle stallion would much rather think.
It’s what he does as his younger brothers attempt to cross the pine. Tiercel looks down at the water halfway across, and leaps toward the bank before he’s entirely across. Nashua also hesitates halfway, falling into the water and startling a laugh out of Gale that continues as the brindle stallion makes his way to the base of the tree.
Once there, he eyes the distance with a critical blue eye. He is heavier than his younger siblings, and the tree looks rather narrow, but he has no intention of backing down. Gale crosses the trunk, his pace steady. A third of the way across he starts to wobble, and then stops. He takes in a long breath, and with the exhale moves again, steady and certain.
Tiercel had specified no cheating (always important in their childhood, since their many magics enhanced play in...interesting ways) and so Gale does not shift, but he does concentrate on the way it felt to be feline and the precision that he had in that shape. His concentration gets him past the point where Tiercel had leapt from, but not all the way across, and he too must leap or fall into the water below.
“Beauty and balance,” Gale announces when his feet are firmly back under him, accentuating the dramatic words with a theatrical toss of his spinal mane. It feels silly, but it feels very comfortable too, laughing with his family.
@[Mazikeen]
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