Moonlight bathes the cay in silver light, and - seemingly - reflects upon a towheaded ghost as it rises from the water and steps onto the sand. Tossing its wildly curling mane out of its face, the ghostling peers up at the moon with a soft smile before making its way further onto the cay. Lovely night for a swim, murmurs the ghost as it investigates its new surroundings. Perhaps this not-ghost might accidentally spook someone!

Normally she would be asleep at this point, but Tosca feels particularly restless tonight. Not for any particular reason; in fact, things are going rather well for her right now. Her little siblings are getting bigger and more interactive by the day, which always keeps her entertained, and her bond with her father and his new bride seems stronger than ever. She hadn't been caught up in any drama yet, either; no marauding rogues and no near-death experiences. All good, really. So - thanks to the ants in her pants - she wanders, and wanders, until she stumbles across someone else. They looked rather eerie, with their ghostly white pelt, but Tosca knew better than to believe that this woman was anything otherworldly.

Or at least she thought she knew better.

The yearling made a beeline for the other lioness, clearing her throat gently as a means of greeting when she moved close enough. "Hi," she offered simply, shooting a tight but friendly smile to go along with it. She wasn't the most outgoing creature around, but why not give it a try? After all, no offense to her family but she hadn't really socialised with anyone outside her little unit properly for a long time. Maybe that's why she was starting to feel so restless.

DON'T BE THAT WAY, FALL APART TWICE A DAY
I JUST WISH YOU COULD FEEL WHAT YOU SAY
SHOW NEVER TELL, BUT I KNOW YOU TOO WELL
GOT A MOOD THAT YOU WISH YOU COULD SELL

someone arrives, and momo offers them a soft grin in return for the stranger's greeting. hello there, the ghostling murmurs, not knowing that this is actually the daughter of one of momo's friends. perhaps israel's name will come up in conversation - it would be nice to know he's still around, after all. i'm mononoke. the soft voice comes again, giving the stranger something to call her other than 'potential ghost'.

SPEECH

code by corvus

Regardless of the fact that - especially at this time of night - Mononoke's near-glowing appearance was rather daunting against the darkness, there was no denying that the woman was rather beautiful. Striking, in an ethereal sort of way. She almost reminded her of Tessa, even though they did have a few differences in appearance; it was the way that they were both small, and pale, and neatly put together. And sweet, so it seemed; the greeting that @Mononoke offered was light and friendly, and put Tosca a little more at ease. Taking the openness of the stranger as some sort of invitation to at least get a little closer, the yearling reduced the gap between them by a few steps. "I'm Tosca. Nice to see I'm not the only one that couldn't get any sleep." With a half-grin she'd shrug, trying to make light of her bouts of insomnia; they weren't frequent, but admittedly she had enough of them for them to be a little inconvenient. It wasn't ideal to be so tired when you had three baby siblings to keep tabs on, as well as a path of your own to forge.

the younger female moves closer, and introduces herself - tracing a grin across momo's expression. it's nice to meet you, tosca, she murmurs, wondering if this tosca suffers from insomnia the same way momo does. albeit, probably for different reasons - and momo would be up at night anyways, even without the insomnia. i'll admit i've had trouble sleeping lately, she muses, ignoring the flash of memory that crops up at the words. though i'm an albino, so technically night is the best time for me to be awake anyways. a lopsided smile appears, self-deprecating amusement evident in her features.

if i'm around during the day, i have to turn myself into a mud monster or suffer severe burns. it's sort of inconvenient. enough about her though - momo turns her focus to finding out more about this mysterious @Tosca! what about you? anything in particular keeping you awake, or are you just restless? is it wanderlust, perhaps? momo can relate to that, though her desire to wander has significantly dampened in the days since sonni's death. she's alive again, now, but that trauma didn't just stop existing - there's more than one reason momo wakes up screaming two hours into any of her attempts at sleeping, after all.

Friendly, curious expression would morph to one of sympathy when @Mononoke informed her of her bouts of insomnia. "I'm sorry - that must be tough. I know I feel horrible if I don't get enough sleep." Luckily for her, on this occasion, it was more a case of restless paws than struggling to get shut-eye. She'd no doubt be weary in the morning, but that was the beauty of being young and having no real obligations; she could have a lie-in if she wanted. Lips would form a little 'o' when the albino informed her of the mud masks. "I've never met someone whose albino before...." She shrugged her shoulders, head tilting a little to one side as she regarded the small lioness. "That sounds like it'd be annoying." While she didn't mind mud too much - not like some young ladies, all prim and proper - she didn't like the idea of having to wear it on the regular. "Not many others are up and about during the night, surely - don't you get lonely?" It was perhaps a bit of a probing question to ask someone she'd just met, but the brunette saw no harm in it. In response to Mononoke's query she'd shake her head, offering a little chuckle. "Oh, no, I just felt a bit restless - thought I'd do some exploring. My family and I live nearby." Well, by nearby she meant the coastline in general - as they were rogues they didn't really have a fixed abode, per say.