do you think we're going the right way? maggak whispers to @Acrux, jaws splitting in a wide yawn as her tongue unfurls from her mouth. i feel like we are. i can almost smell the sea from here.
they'd been on the run for days now, taking their time as they maneuvered from place to place. maggak began to doubt if anaa had bothered to look for them; if she even noticed they were missing, that they had so openly defied her.
right now, however, she supposed she did not care what her mother thought. look at how big this field is, ru, the starlet gestures her arm outward, the honey-pink sky slowly becoming dotted with stars. it's so beautiful out here. y'think we can see the constellations?

yeah!
swiftly, maggak trails through the sedge and listens for the hymn of the crickets, laughing as it comes to a stop when she draws near their hiding places. she scans their surroundings and seeks a good spot with soft enough grass to lay in.
crazy how we're seeing so many places we've never even known existed until now, she comments, plopping down on the teetering edge of a steep hillside. she rolls onto her back in order to better see the paint-splattered stars above them, inviting her brother to join her with a whack of her tail against the earth. doesn't compare to home, though, i don't think.
her paws bunch close to her chest as she exhales a contented sigh. oh, look! she points to a particularly bright star that casts its glow over the rest. i wonder what that is.

surprise wrote itself across maggak's face before she felt herself beginning to laugh; a genuine, heartfelt laugh, rolling off of her tongue like the waves upon a shore. oh, ru, you big sap. i love you too.
she rolls over so that she may press herself into his side, burying her face into his shoulder and pressing a kiss there. i wouldn't be me without you either, big guy, she mumbles, readjusting so that her voice is not muffled by the thick coat of fur he wore. sometimes i feel like you're all i have in this world, y'know? like, sure, we've got our moms, and anânsiak, but... i don't feel as close to any of them the way i feel close to you. you're my best friend.
sometimes she wondered if her moms had any place in her life at all.

do you think they miss us?
maggak grew solemn, suddenly, shifting to peek out at the endless stretch of indigo above them. sometimes i feel like... i don't know, like they're so wrapped up in other things, they can't be bothered to entertain us.
like after you got attacked by that-- that thing, her lip curls up at the mere memory of it. and the brecheliant wolves followed us home. anaa got angry with me for not wanting them there, when it was one of their people who hurt you.
and-- i just feel like i'm never gonna be what she wants me to be, she rolls over to rest her head against the grass, turned away from acrux; she felt the stubborn sting of tears at the corners of her eyes and refused to let him see it. i'm not her. i'm not anânsiak. i feel like you're the only one who actually likes me for who i am.

acrux lulled her into silence with his voice, the tepid exploration of memories which surely pained him to dwell on as much as they did for her.
i'm still looking for it, there is venom upon her tongue, something so rare for the typically calm starlet that she even surprises herself. if i ever find whatever it was that hurt you that day, i swear-- the spirits will not want to watch what i'll do to that fucking beast.
her muscles grow tense, only shifting and calming beneath the tenderness of acrux's touch. she audibly sniffles, her eyes squeezed shut; so are you, she whispers. i'm never letting anyone take you from me, or hurt you, or-- you are the most important thing in my life, acrux.
maggak was the sap now, but she decides that she does not care. throw it all to the wind, let it all burn to ashes or crumble to smithereens; she would let moonspear dissolve into nothing but stardust if it meant it was the only way to keep him at her side. to protect. to comfort. to love.
in all the ways anaa did not.

you already are strong, acrux, her tail thuds against the grass, sweeping up to softly whack against his thigh. you could've let the beast win, but you didn't. you survived. that takes a lot of strength, real strength.
i don't want you to feel like you ever have to change who you are either, y'know. you don't have to beat people up just because, laughter breaks the somber blanket which had settled over the pair, though if one listened closely they could still hear the crackle of emotion in maggak's voice. you're so sweet, and smart. that's a form of strength, too. like, anânsiak once told me that my heart was pure, but i think yours is a whole hell of a lot more pure than mine.
she pauses, gaze shifting to the moon which now peeks overtop their heads, bathing them both in pale blue. she notices the tiny intricacies of the craters and the ridges, and finds herself staring awestruck.
beneath its cover, she feels small.