Would it have been a surprise if Rogue suddenly waltzed into Diveen and took down the Assassins? Well, likely not. In truth, Malina partially hoped she did one day - Ava had been off her back but she was still... annoying in her own way. Her son had been spending a horrendous amount of time with Melek, and Malina could not pretend like that was a relationship she would have encouraged. Sometimes, she thought that maybe the brats would have been better off in her care. At least they would have learnt to pick better friends. Really, she could have at least gotten to know Magnus instead of Anslam or whatever his name happened to be. At least then it would have made sense - she would have inherited her mother's taste. Hell, if she had rolled her eyes any harder, they would have slid down and off her face.

And if Rogue had nipped any harder, she could have sworn her cheek would have pulled right off too. She stuck her tongue out as she pulled away, raising a brow at her remark - a fish, huh? With her right paw, she swatted out, intending to bat her companion's muzzle lightly in a feigned slap of sorts.

"I think you're forgetting that you're the one who smells fishy here, not I. I'll have you know I learnt impeccable hygiene from the Angels."

She flashed a playful grin before she lowered her head, running a paw along its top so as to smooth the fur down, though it came to always stand back up awkwardly. She'd never been the one to look so well put together. Already, she could feel the salt residue in her pelt, causing it to tuft and make her look more and more unkempt than usual. If only Heyel could see her now! An alleged traitor and lacking in style! Oh, the humility! She chuckled to herself, both at her own hilarity and Rogue's own - she nodded along, both brows raised before she nudged forward, once more bringing her paw up to bat her friend.

"I should probably make an attempt to remind you that I should be offended by that. I suppose I should run off to Diveen and tell them that somebody is planning on being a real Devil -" she paused, sticking out her tongue once more and winking, "But I think I'll let you off the hook today. There are a few wolves I wouldn't mind skinning, too, so we're being devils together."

There was a sudden shift then, and she stood back as her companion's face changed - she tilted her head, frowning slightly as she watched on. Maybe she'd eaten some bad fight? It didn't quite look like it but you never knew, right? As much as she wanted to be able to do so, she could not quite get into Rogue's head. A shame that, for perhaps it would have been... pleasant to know of her thoughts beforehand. Somehow, the look managed to make her nervous, her throat dry as ever as she shifted awkwardly atop her paws. How far was it back to Diveen, again? She'd always been good at running away from awkward situations.

"Well, maybe I will, you know? A change of scenery can't be that bad, right? We can smell like fish together."

She flashed a sheepish grin, swaying nervously on her pillar legs as she met Rogue's gaze. There was something in it that felt... heavy, like there were unspoken words between them. What could it have been? Malina had felt many things in her life but nothing quite like this. It was not even the same with Sleekwing, even if she apparently needed to at least spy on him from time to time. With Rogue... it was like she needed to be there all the time. Hell, she even wanted to spy on Sleekwing with her. Anything and everything... Rogue had to be there otherwise it didn't feel quite right. But what would the others think?

More importantly... when had Malina ever really cared about what others thought?

She swallowed her nerves, trying to drown out the pounding in her ears as she stared down at her paws, watching her claws flex in and out of the dirt beneath them. Then she spoke, her words quiet and slow, a murmur almost as her ears flattened back nervously.

"Well, I... uh, you know, I... love you... too, Rogue. I mean, you know..."

Well, she had to hope that she knew, for after that, she felt as if she had both been freed from a weight but hit with a heavier one. What if she hadn't meant it that way? What if she had just meant it like family, or long term friends? She'd have to play it cool - the sheepish, guilty smile surely gave it away though.

M A L I N A
[ eight - dark angel of diveen ]


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