her paws dangled. her eyes watched. her ears swiveled and flickered at the far off sounds of claws and stone; she merely watched deep into the darkness, an endless abyss that resonated with the sounds of far away lands and far away thoughts. only when her howl had ended did she catch the nearby scent of another. ailith, the scent called, and so, eto flopped onto her side, her eyes suddenly fixated on the steely grey of sleekwing. they seemed to widen in surprise and amusement; had she summoned him? he had appeared like mist at her beckoning, after all. it made her tail flop once with cheer, her brother's efforts of having joined in clearly enough to bring about a new friend for her. just like the wolf in the dark of the crags.

then, her mother had leapt into sudden action. still, eto remained complacent in her lazing; she merely twitched in response to her mother taking her position, cutting eto off from her companion made of mist. it made her blink several times, her head tilted and yet, she merely rose to her paws, nonchalant despite the frantic nature of ailith. after all, she had become used to such defensiveness. it intrigued her if anything, her head tilted to its opposite axis as she sauntered beside her mother. she watched as her mother shouted, the lilac of her eyes drifting between sleekwing and she.

you're not real, you're not real, you're not real.

the words seemed to bounce back at them, the caverns laughing in response as the caves chanted back at their small group. eto only grinned up at her mother as she stepped back several paces. "of course he is real, mother," she stated flatly. she had begun to move towards him, her breathing heavy with anticipation as she prepared to touch him and yet, her brother had made the first move. as he charged forward, she had been quick to step aside, knowing well that her mother would not take so well to such behavior. instead of her, it had been Qallupilluk that had suffered the discipline. it made her grin for a moment.

with her brother now out of the way, eto had followed his direction; now, she had found herself a comfortable place beside him, the shadows of the tunnels reaching out to consume her as she backed into them. she had become shrouded now, her eyes narrowed as she watched her mother flop into the strange male. her mother had never done that to her. sorry, sorry, sorry, she had said. missed you, missed you, missed you. it made eto's tail twitch.

"she won't let you play with him, brother," she cooed, her eyes never once having left the adults now that she had taken an interest, "that's not fun, is it?" only then did her eyes flicker down to him, her lips pulled up into a girlish grin and her eyes wide with question.