Well, it’s not Gale’s fault the world is broken - which is almost too bad. It would have been nice for a bit to blame that on him, even though she didn’t particularly mind the whole situation. Between her fire and the ability to shapeshift into animals more accustomed to seeing in the dark, this little fluke wasn’t bothering her too much.
But then, she also hadn’t come across any of the monsters crawling about either. For her, so far it was just a weird extended night.
Mazikeen’s distracted from her concern over the loss of Gale’s appendages when he mentions that she had left a mark on his wings. Maybe this shouldn’t be something that causes her to smile but it does. She likes the idea that even though she had lost to him and had to carry that with her - he had been marked by their battle too. At least as long as his wings had lasted. “Your alliance marking is where I bit you?” She repeats with a growing grin. It’s not quite predatory, but there’s something a little feline about it. Something pleased. “Well, now I’m very sad that your wings are gone. I would have liked to have seen that. You left a mark on me too, though not the V - I haven’t found that yet.”
She doesn’t know that it is on the tip of her nose, cradling the dark snip on her face with a rich blood-red stroke.
Mazikeen turns her head and curls back her lips, opening her mouth slightly so the firelight catches on a tooth chipped in half in a jagged line. “It’s more impressive when I’m a predator but I didn’t want it to be healed. Wanted the reminder of the day I lost.” The words start out proud and she means for it to come out as a joke but her voice falters partway through until she cannot even get out the last few words: to you.
Her heart rate picks up in her discomfort and Mazikeen is very quickly and powerfully aware that she does not want to deal with the emotions that are rising within her. Especially since anger is not the one surging ahead and she would not be able to hide behind it. She knows it wasn’t personal, knows she was trying to beat him as much as he had been her. She always was better at feeling than thinking.
Still, this is not the time to go over all that - so she clears her throat and brushes aside that vulnerability before gesturing to the beach in a not very smooth but hopefully effective attempt at changing the subject. “So. Is this where you saw the sunset you tried to blind me with?” Some of the smile returns then, a little less genuine than before - but if she keeps it in place long enough, she’s sure she’ll feel it again.
@[Gale]