Twin audits made the most delicate of movements, twitching at the slightest of sounds heard from the ice. Now that his attention was fixated on the frozen channel of water, he noticed the subtle differences from what he'd been able to hear earlier in the winter. Unconsciously he leaned forward a little bit, and he realized he could hear the movement of water, though it was somehow distant. He didn't understand, thinking maybe he had somehow ended up closer to the southern coast where the island did not provide a breaker between the mainland and the endless waters he'd been told about. Once more the ice groaned, and a sound like the breaking of a twig underfoot made his entire head swivel upstream. His nostrils flared, wishing that his sense of smell could somehow aid him in discerning what was going on. A thought occurred to him then, and he straightened his head, sightless eyes gazing in the direction of the island. Was there someone out there, some beast making those lamenting calls? His brows furrowed as he felt the familiar sensation of frustration building within his chest.
So engrossed in his puzzlement over the unfamiliar noses was Cartel that he didn't hear the approach of another until the sound of laughter cut through his focus. Both ears pulled back and he suddenly stood, prepared to defend himself from his malignant sisters. But as he spun around to face them he realized that the laughter was not made in mockery of him as he stared off into the nothingness that consumed his field of vision. No, this was a light sound, a happy sound, and for a moment he felt just as perplexed by it as he had by the sounds coming from the ice. Copper and gold laced eyes stared straight ahead as his head turned back and forth, ears at full mast as he worked to locate the source of the sound. The softness of her spoken word saw his head click towards her general area, ears pricked forward intently, though his gaze was fixated above her head and slightly off to the side rather than upon her face.
He had become so accustomed to the ridicule of his sisters that he wasn't sure what to think of her lighter voice; perhaps it was just some kind of trick to lull him into a false sense of security before she pushed backwards and onto the ice. But he could tell she was still a short distance away from him, and he tried to listen to the stirring in his stomach that told him she might be nicer than Keturah and Esdeath. "Hello? Who's there?" He tried to sound tough, like he wasn't nervous about being picked on, but his black flecked tail planted itself firmly against his hindquarters. Maybe, just maybe, she would be the one to show him that not everyone in this world would view his lack of sight as a deplorable deformity.
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