we scream our very souls free
The little shadow has become so familiar with the endless depths and hushed nooks of the Taigan forest that it is almost without thought that Haunt trips through the trees. It takes little concentration to step nimbly through the darkness, occasional giggles and shrieks the only evidence of the creature as it plays with its closest friend and shadowy siblings.
Haunt is less tethered to Ether than Misfit is to his mother, though that fact does not seem to bother the child. Nor does the fact that Father is being run rather ragged trying to keep up with the sprightly little boy-girl. And with two other siblings, it is an impossible task, to keep such a spirited child contained. Luckily perhaps, Haunt has a friend that poses as a more successful tether to home than any other incentive might have.
Haunt has grown used to Misfit disappearing occasionally, checking on his mother, ensuring she had not wandered too far. The shadow child does not quite understand it, but accepts the attentiveness as simply an integral part of him. By now Haunt barely notices when Misfit disappears to check his mother, only becoming aware of the absence when it has extended perhaps a smidgeon too long.
It takes only a fraction of a thought to decide to pursue, to turn that pursuit into a game worthy of two rough and tumbled friends. As the creature slips easily through the shadows, eagerness contained behind suppressed laughter, Haunt stalks through the trees until a flash of gray and blue give away the boy’s location. With a hushed giggle, Haunt curls into the shadows before bursting free directly beside Misfit, crashing into him with a shriek of laughter.
It is only as Haunt collides Fit in a flail of limbs that the child realizes Misfit and Briseis are not alone.
