m a z i k e e n .
They return to the peaceful moment that existed before Mazikeen had ruined it with her tears, and though she knows that sadness is just hidden behind a thin veil it is easy to believe it’s faded away with Myrna pressed into her side. Or when her daughter looks up at her with molten orange eyes.
Instead of correcting Myrna, she grins at the girl’s sage tone and nods in agreement. “Definitely got that from you.” There was no harm in not letting the logistics of inheritance weigh them down.
She has to check to see if Myrna is falling asleep, glancing down to see the girl’s eyes closed. Mazikeen follows her lead and when she answers these questions her voice is soft and she keeps her head turned to brush it in soothing movements across Myrna’s skin.
Soothing maybe for her more than the filly, but at long as Myrna will let her stand like this - Mazikeen will take every second she can. “I have a few sisters and at least one brother, but I’m not very close with them. We didn’t grow up together like you and Malik. And I don’t know about cousins.” If either Garbage or Agetta had any siblings, it had never come up once. “You do have aunts and uncles though. Lots of them.” Too many. Official and otherwise. “Even though I’m not close with my siblings, you’ve got the ones that were part of the Pack. Your Aunt Sabal used to live in the lake here. And Breach and Daye…” Her voice cracks a little but she doesn’t let herself fall into sadness again. She maintains the smile even if Myrna's eyes stay closed. “They were some of my first friends ever.”
She tries not to think about how all the names she is listing, all the family she is telling Myrna about, aren’t here. Mazikeen knows where Gale’s family is better than her own and the guilt there twists at her heart. “And Barrow, I can’t wait for you to meet him. He only can turn into the one shape but it’s a puppy and he always makes me laugh.” |
Viszla
