Itzal shrugged off the thank you. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate it but Itzal wasn't one to accept thanks. He did something because he wanted to, so there was no reason to thank him for doing what he wanted. But still, the sentiment wasn't lost on Itzal. He nodded his head in response. Itzal didn't say anything until Malakai confirmed his suspicions, causing Itzal to grin. And what bloody cloth it is. The black male who stood on two feet said to the one on four. Itzal wasn't sure how he felt about Malakai. He was happy to have found someone that he could share interest with but that also put Malakai high on Itzal's potential threat list. Itzal was always expecting a knife in the back, except for the moments when Axelle made him drop his guard. Then he would have welcomed a knife in the back if it was coming from her. But Malakai wasn't Axelle, and as much as Itzal found himself liking the male, his instincts and Eztli screamed at him to be wary.
The shock on his face had to be evident for a few seconds as the male offered Itzal food. Then Itzal did his best to hide it. He wasn't sure how successful he was, but he expected moderately. Itzal wasn't use to that kind of generosity. Especially from another male who had hunted down the prey for his mate. Itzal wasn't sure how to respond. Malakai's words caused Itzal to again look up at the approaching storm and grimace some more. Then his gaze returned to the black male in front of him. Are you sure? Itzal was a more than capable hunter, but Malakai's offer held a ring of decision too it. Like if Itzal took the rabbit, he was sealing whatever possibility of a friendship there was between them, and if he refused, he crushed the chance for that friendship. Itzal still hadn't decided when the word brother slipped out.
It really wasn't a big deal to Itzal. He often called his fellow packmates his family. Though he had never given them specific titles. Itzal didn't understand the concept of family that well. His own had been murdered by another so called member of their family. And then Itzal had murdered that member of his family. So to Itzal, family was just a word. He had yet to connect any personal ties to the word, though the bases for them were forming. But that specific word. That title of brother seemed to mean a lot to Malakai. And to Itzal it did in a way. His own brother had been killed at 5 months, so Itzal had never really known him. But maybe he would have been just like Itzal. Maybe he would have been a Malakai if it had been him to live instead of Itzal. Itzal knew that the pack was his family, but what did that truly mean. This is what it means. Itzal thought, eyeing the rabbit in front of him. Sacrificing something that you earned to make sure another was okay, that was family. Itzal decided right then to take the rabbit. He bent down and picked it up, a conflicted grin on his face as he tried to wrap his mind around the new concept of family that he was forming. Thank you...brother. It means a great deal. And it did to the black male. He didn't think he could ever have given something up so selflessly. It was a testament to Malakai's strength that he had been able too.
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