>>6343663“The same?” The Beast mulls the word over his tongue, as if contemplating its taste and texture. Then, the being simply shrugs, deciding that the distinct notes to be irrelevant to the general tune.
“I suppose so.”
Then, as the conversation turns to contemporary events, the Beast emits a candid, barking laugh in amusement. “Seen? I’m merely a Beast myself that roams, though thinking I would abandon my Children to fickle fates of the world bestows upon me a great injustice. What do you take me for, a simple minded predator, wandering these wastes in the cold-blooded pursuit of prey? How crass.”
“No, the bond I share with my Children are one borne of divine lineage, and thus, duties are expected. For my Children are the future of the Forest.” Luminous eyes glower, as if staring straight into the soul. The shadows that cloak the Beast shimmer in the reflection of the aurora’s light upon the freshly fallen snow, and the lantern in the Beast’s hand flickers and wanes, it’s dancing, cackling flame mesmerizing all the same.
Then, a soft whisper escapes from the bushes. The rustling reveals itself to be a little snowhare, freshly migrated to Shinyton, and a young one at that. In between it’s newly formed buckteeth, it holds a pair of Arctic Lilies, as white as the arctic ice that entrapped the Maltides in its spell so long ago. The lil’ hare cautiously wanders closer to the Beast, and the Beast delicately plucks the frozen flower, with its stem freshly cut, from the hares’s hold, and softly ruffles the silken fur behind its ears, as if in thanks as it ponders this gift. Then, just as skittish, the lil’ hare cautiously, slowly, starts wandering to the other divinity standing there, the icy lily gleaming in the lantern light.
“As for your request,” the Beast notes, flower tucked away into shadowy folds as he turns to resume his stride, “…do as you will- far be it from me to oppose your nature. Though I suppose…” he notes, as his voice trails off in a musical whisper “…what could be more natural, than two willful souls finding safe harbor, against that insidious windy chill?”
