Gale this is going to break me clean in two -- this is going to bring me close to you Quick, simple, easy. Things are never so with Mazikeen. He’d meant to storm after her, to rip the truth from her by any means necessary. Then he’d kill her, forcing her into the bitter cold of the Afterlife for just long enough to shudder, and pulling her back just to do it over again. If someone else grabbed her while she was Dead, so be it. She could be their problem, because he is done with her. Done. The thoughts echo in his mind on the way back to Hyaline. He is not sure if they are true. He worries that they are. Chaos rages within his own mind, and he opens his mouth to breathe fire on the land below him. But he pauses, because it is Tephra. He thinks of the boy. Even if his magic fails, Gale can still use Malik to make her suffer. He smiles. Dropping to the earth he took on a purple shape. --- Two days later, Gale watches the mouth of the cave where Mazikeen has been sleeping. He knows she is there, just as she must know he is watching from below. He’d tried to ask her once before, but he knew now it was hopeless. He’d meant to surprise her, to wake her near dawn. Slip in beside her, and crack her neck if she fought back. But he’d only made it as far as slip in beside her. Mazikeen’s body smells like sleep and sweat, and Gale knew for certain that if he woke her, she would pull him down on top of her and he would lose whatever reason he’s held on to in the glow of her orange eyes. So he watches her instead. Watches, and waits, and finally it is time to find their son, and with him find some way to cut out this Thing that he has allowed to fester inside of him. @Mazikeen