Mazikeen’s smile warms as she watches her friend and mentor shift into the very familiar wolf form. They’ve only ever interacted in other shapes, though she knew Dayé in horse form as well as she would recognize her own mother. Still, there’s a comfort to both being wolves again as they wander into Hyaline with matched strides and take in their new home together.
Mazikeen does not mind the jest in response to her own teasing question about rogue wolves - and when Dayé looks to the lake she takes the opportunity to shift into a mountain lion. The true effect is a little lost - she is still white, after all, with four black paws and a mark on her face but her orange eyes dance with mischief. It’s a casual message too - that no matter what this new place might throw at them, she can change to meet whatever danger. She’s not afraid.
Or, more accurately, she is trying to not be afraid.
She cheekily purrs a little at Dayé’s casual complimentary words but as she thinks about them her mood grows a little sombre and she looks down at her large feline paws. They do comfort her, but their warmth is tempered by her own uncertainty. And as much as she wishes she could always be strong with the older wolf, she’s comfortable enough to be honest too. “I don’t feel like it, not all the time.” Sometimes she jumped when she heard a twig snapping and she was alone in the woods at night. Sometimes she slept in trees just to avoid being on the ground when she couldn’t find one of their pack to be near. And that thought causes her to look to Dayé with a smile that isn’t even a little sarcastic. “Not when I’m with my family.”
Mazikeen moves then, drifting closer to the lake, and when they are close to the shore she asks “Where were you born, Dayé?”
@[Dayé]