Cyan Serenity 2: Imha leaves?

[frayedflower]

Wistaria was chatting with Nana some short distance from the den, though she only seemed to pay half a mind to the conversation. Her teal eyes were constantly flicking around, as though hoping to spot a familiar streak of white slinking closer. Returning home.

She'd known her daughter hadn't been happy since Sano had departed. And of course, the queen wanted more than anything to see Imharia find the joy she so rightly deserved. But it was her daughter, her precious little girl. The sheer thought of having to let her go, when it felt like just yesterday she'd been a kitten curled up beside her... it was enough to make her heart ache.

It didn't help that on top of that, Meshta had been growing more withdrawn by the day. He still treated both she and Ferrian with the upmost respect, but he hardly spoke to them anymore unless he had to. Of course, unlike his sister, the little prince had yet to grow an inch... she didn't doubt for a moment that only contributed to his already solitary nature. Bar Tengai now and then, she'd never spotted him with anyone even close to his age...

And had his mother asked, he would have readily provided that they were just a bunch of nuisances. It wasn't that strange, was it? To relish his privacy, the silence, like he did? It didn't seem anyone understood.

He sighed softly, dropping his head onto his over sized paws. But who was he really kidding? Of course no one else got it. He knew he was strange. There was something different lurking inside of him, he could feel it. Something he couldn't place into words if he tried. His family was so caring, so loving, and he just... wasn't. Even when he tried to be a better kit, they just saw right through the act and shot him back down again. What else could he do? He rolled onto his back, staring up into the sky with a frown.

... was Imharia really going to leave for good? Just like that?  

[frayedflower]

Time finally seemed to catch up to Meshta. And at last, what lay within that had set him apart from the others for so long was reflected in his flesh and fur. Wings sprouted from his back, a horn from his head... he'd been right all along. He wasn't normal at all. Truthfully, the newfound demon didn't know how to feel. Relieved that he'd been right all along? Or not, because... well, he'd been right all along. He knew he'd been different. But...

"I don't belong here, " he remarked quietly to Tengai one day as he sat beside his uncle, peering into the water. "Do I?" Even if Meshta was very much a solitary creature, he got on well with his family. Tengai especially. He was much more social than Meshta would ever be, softer, the type of male that seemed so fitting to this beautiful pride. But Tengai understood the need to be alone... and even if they'd grown up differently, they'd both been late bloomers. It had been enough to draw them closer still. They'd reached adulthood near the same time -- sometimes their relationship was more akin to brothers than nephew and uncle. If there was anyone 'easy' for Meshta to talk to, it was him.

Tengai never stopped staring in the waters, the same ones he'd so eagerly jumped onto when his mother'd first bought him and his brothers home so long ago. "Just because you have wings doesn't mean you don't belong, Mesh." He wished he'd understand that. "What did that lioness say to you that one time? Just because you're different, it's not wrong or anything. It's not about belonging or not... it's where you're happy." He looked up, trying to catch Meshta's gaze. "That's the real question. Are you happy here?"

Silence was his answer.