[private] i guess i'm a letdown; Malik

[Anath]

all these voices in my head get loud
i wish that i could shut them out
i'm sorry that i let you down

As she has not yet been eaten (and is unaware of how casually and frequently this is discussed) Anath continues to spend her days attempting to be something besides the least valuable member of Malik’s collection of playmates. Not every day can be spent in this pursuit, mind, this she well knows. If she fails at her entire reason for being in Hyaline in the first place someone may decide to oust her even before winter comes along. So when Malik is interested in playing with her she will play.

Today she looks for him near, but not too near, his sleeping place. Lingering in the open but as out of the way of his parents as she can be, should they pass her way. The girl whickers for her friend, because she does think him that, certain that he likes her enough to not want her to have to leave the home he brought her to. After a while, growing bored, she gazes up at a maple tree that has just dropped one of its star-shaped leaves upon her. While she still looks up into the branches a tendril of light dashes the leaf from her back and then twists around her body swiftly. Anath waits, gazing up, the intermittent breeze plucks another leaf and sends it drifting downward. The filly watches it, an ear twisting thoughtfully, and flicks it out of the air with a quick lash of sunlight. A smile creeps onto her lips, only to drop again when the sound of movement comes to her ears.

anath

let you down

@ Malik Thought these kids better hang out.

[Malik]

Malik climbs down from the tree where he has been resting in the sun. At the base he stretches, long and lithe, a black snow leopard with impossibly white teeth.

Blinking his eyes slowly, the youth looks around at his mountainous home, well lit by the afternoon sun. Everything glitters crisp and white, and far below the lake glitters like a massive silver eye. The trees are bare black talons or thick green pine, and the young colt smiles contentedly before setting out in search of adventure. The snow is deep, so he adopts the shape of a northern mamoose before moving forward, clearing the drifts and traversing the rocky ground far easier than he might have in his preferred feline form.

Perhaps he’ll find Raum again today, or the twins that his mother had brought back. Or maybe he could sneak off and see where his father had gone - not that he is especially eager to find him. While Gale has always been precise with his memory wiping, there remains some innate discomfort in not remembering great swaths of time, and Malik has enjoyed having all of his memories lately. He’s not asked his mother where Gale had gone, and nor does he intend to.

When he spots Anath ahead, Malik realizes that he might need to amend that decision. Gale had been the parent most inclined to allowing him to keep Anath here in Hyaline. Before he is close enough for her to see, Malik manages to hide some of the concern on his face. He’s smiling - even if it is lukewarm - as he step closer and bobs his antlered head in greeting.

“Hey Anath,” he says when he’s taken a horse form again for easier communication. “How’s it going?”

@Anath