The fact that a lot of the creatures were suffering through a long and harsh winter meant noting to Shikoba. He was nestled, warm and cozy, down in a hole in the ground, with all the dried food that he could eat. Maybe some mice enjoyed Winter, but not him. Not even for his Soquili companion would he remain above ground during the cold. As soon as the frost started, he was plugging up his hole to the deep burrow he'd made years ago in Ni'awtu's home area, settling in for a long season of sleeping and eating without the disturbance of others shaking his world with their steps above his ceiling.
But being so far underground, he wasn't sure what the time of day was or even how far into Winter the world was. Sometimes he emerged later than he intended, having gotten caught up in a lazy spell and forgetting to go near the entrance to test out the temperature. This was one of those days.
Giving a great yawn, the dark mouse stretched and roes form his cozy nest full of downy feathers and soft fur donated by mother rabbits with grown children. Shikoba felt like he'd been asleep for days. It was high time he checked on the entrance. Forcing himself to move, he approached it, noticing the lack of a chill that was there the last time he had. He was overdue, wasn't he? Ni'awtu must be worried about him, as she always was when he was late. So he began to dig at the seal on his door, slowly, still groggy from just waking up. As he poked his head out of the small hole he'd eventually made, he got the fright of his life as something big was blocking him, staring down at him.
Without warning, he gave a cry, backing away from the entrance. "My ears, I thought you were going to eat me!"
"Why would I eat you, dear friend?" The blue mare responded, backing away to give her mouse friend some breathing room. Lowering her head to the ground, Ni'awtu laid down near Shikoba's home, watching him calmly. "I was worried about you."
"You always are," came the response from the hole, a quivering, whiskered nose appearing with the voice. The mouse poked his head out further, pushing at the dirt with his paws until it was large enough to exit. He sat there, shaking his head and cleaning his paws. "I don't know what you'd do without me, Ni'awtu."
That brought a smile to the mare's face, as she blew gently on the mouse in affection. He answered with twitches of the ears. "I don't either. You've been my longest friend."
"I don't suppose you need me quite as much as before, do you?"
Ni'awtu gave a soft laugh at this. She knew he wasn't being serious. He knew she knew, too. He was referring to Prism. For the longest time, it had only been her and Shikoba, until Prism swept in, taking Ni'awtu off on a sudden rush of emotions and love. Having another Soquili for company was something she hadn't felt in such a long time, that she admitted she might have allowed herself to become a bit too swept up in it. She didn't think she'd ever have the capacity to love anyone or anything ever again. But Shikoba would always be a very special friend to her and she missed him. As she always missed him during Winter.
"That's nonsense and you know it, old friend."
Shikoba nodded, knowing this was always how it was. He'd never made the comment out of bitterness. Quite the opposite. Affection had always been a difficult thing for him to express. He was more practical and didn't see the sense of being affectionate all the time. There were ways f showing others you cared without being all sappy about it. He trusted that they all knew how he felt. If not, well...They just had to observe more closely.
The mouse gave a sniff at the air, whiskers twitching. "I don't suppose anything important happened while I was gone?" He knew what the answer would be. No. Nothing ever did happen. He liked it that way. Shikoba was more comfortable in a world where everything was predictable, where he didn't have to second guess his status or what tomorrow would bring. He knew Ni'awtu felt the same. She'd suffered enough in her life that she preferred the peace and quiet.
"The blizzards were terrible and it was the coldest I can ever remember it being. But no. Nothing of note happened while you were gone." There was a small note of sadness in her voice. There was one thing that she hoped would happen soon, something she had been wishing for for a while. But sometimes these things just took time. Maybe it wasn't the right moment for it.
Shikoba heard it. He was observant of everything that went on around him, including the emotions of others. One his size had to be or you would easily find yourself another creature's snack. There was still too much in this world he wanted to see before his time came to leave it.
Bounding forward, he scurried up the lowered muzzle, climbing the hill that was the mare's face until he stood between her ears. He held onto her forelock as she lifted herself back to her feet. He stroked on of her ears, one of the few signs of actual affection he'd ever give and only to her. They'd been together for so long, only had each other for so long, she alone deserved a little physical show of how much he cared for her.
She, in turn, gave a snort from her nostrils, turning around to head back to her work station. Now that Shikoba was up, there was a lot of work with her herbs to catch up on. She needed his nimble fingers to help her.
