<font color=goldenrod>came out swinging</font>

Well, she was definitely off in her own little world or so it seemed. Hardly even noticed Malina come over which, really, was a pretty good sign her mind may have been affected by the flesh eating disease but finally, she seemed to come back to reality. It was a brief look but suddenly, she looked away and to that, Malina replied with a light huff and a deep frown - what? Malina had a good pelt - no scabs, no scars - so why was this woman looking away? Apparently there was a reason though - Malina looked familiar. But how? Was she just saying that because Malina had said it? If she was pretending to be Zeivah then she would probably claim that Malina looked familiar after all... yes, yes, she was good at acting but not that good.

She tried her best to look less suspicious, trying to bright up her features as she simply responded to the female's remark with a court nod before looking back over the lake. It was hard though to try and brighten up - whoever the female beside her was, well, she had a certain aura about her that made Malina just want to curl up and sleep. Misery? Yes, that word seemed to fit. Instead, though, she simply shifted her weight about a little awkwardly (perhaps even a little out of nervousness) and passed another side ways glance to the flame-licked female. Right before she answered. Zeivah. The sheer mention of the name brought a small growl from Malina's chest, her head instantly snapping to face the other with her features contorted into a look of disapproval. The voice was off - it rung with the same accent as Heyel's own but it did not sound right. It was not Zeivah's once angelic hymn of a voice, no, not at all. Malina remembered it well for she was her Queen and her Master's Queen at that.

"Zeivah is dead," she growled, her tail flicking out behind her in agitation as a single brow raised up in challenge before she continued, her voice running rampant, "I watched my Master mourn for her - for almost three years, he mourned. He still mourns for her. Her children, too, remain in sadness from her loss and yet you have the guts to claim to be her? You are not a ghost - we said the prayers day after day to ensure her spirit departed in peace. Now I ask again - who are you?"

Again, her eyes narrowed as she took a tentative step forward, her hackles bristling for a moment before she composed herself. If this was supposed to be mockery for their loss then she would not allow it; she would very well take this creature and kill it where it stood. She'd even watched Isola and Azrael drag their paws about in misery - they'd never been the same after the disaster and ultimately, it could easily have been put down to Zeivah's death. Had she still been around, perhaps even Heyel would have had the same glisten in his eyes as he had once upon a time. Perhaps she had been closer to disposing of the imposer than she thought - her body remained rigged, muscles alive with static anticipation and then... a question. A language so familiar that a flip had seemingly been switched off; her features fell from their on-edge appearance into those more relaxed, her body falling slacker and her head turning away as if unimpressed. Who was she?

"Non sum tam iuuenis," she huffed, ears fluttering back irritably,"Sed est nomen meum Malina."

("I am not so young, but I am Malina")

There. Happy imposter?

Name:
Subject:
Message:

Password To Edit Post: