"Now, if I am your mate, do we get to imagine doing all the naughty stuff or are you going to watch me and then have me hurt myself so that I can show the world you claimed me," Malaika asked as she watched Hanwi throw on the borrowed clothes.

Hanwi let out a deep sigh. "Usually," she said, taking in a slow manner of speech, "when a wolf finds their mate, what happens is, they talk and gauge each other and then think about the naughty stuff - or vice versa, I am not here to judge. Many things have happened but I think this is the first time one has been declared a hallucination."

Malaika nodded. "Fascinating," she said. "And this makes you feel bad so I shouldn't infer you as a hallucination and rather acknowledge you as a real person. It'll make sense. I mean, you are a whole being with thoughts even though you are from me which brings a whole other sort of problems... are your thoughts mine but I don't know or are you really a separate person? Is this why people are thrown into psyche wards? It's all very difficult questions people would not feel like answering at odd hours of the day."

Hanwi rubbed lightly at her temple, letting out a deep and long breath. "What's your name?" she asked, focusing her gaze towards her, letting her hands fall to her sides rather listlessly.

"Shouldn't you already know that?" Malaika smiled, eyes gleaming with newfound discoveries. "I think this means you are your own person with your own thoughts. Makes even more sense."

"Please share your name with me," Hanwi prompted once more, a careful smile that seldom reached her eyes, renting her lips.

"Oh, yes! Malaika." She leaned back, crossing her hands over her chest. "Do you understand Kiswahili?"

Hanwi's eyes turned to half moons as she said, "Malaika, that is a beautiful name, much like the owner of it." Malaika snorted, rolling her eyes. It had been so long since she felt a tad silly and bashful at the prospect of someone giving her a simple compliment. Hanwi continued. "I need to emphasize the fact that I am not a hallucination. I am a real person - well, a real werewolf if we are going by factual descriptions. I am not a figment of your imagination and if you continue on like this, I think I am going to start getting super concerned. To answer your question, no, I don't understand Kiswahili."

Malaika considered her. "Okay," she said. "Prove it."

The fridge hummed in the background, joining the melodies of the toads and crickets outside. It was soothing even though the discussion going on was anything but. "How do I even prove I am a real person? Do I pinch you? Pinch myself? Throw something? I have never had to do this before."

Malaika pursed her lips. "I suppose physical touch is the only way."

"Then have I not touched you plenty?" Hanwi asked.

"Circumstantial evidence doesn't stand. Those things could have happened the way they did because I helped myself to my house." Malaika said importantly. She never once thought her degree in Political Science would help her through reasoning as she was. "Let's do it once more just to confirm if you are real or not."

Hanwo looked at her, doubtful. "How?"

"Easy," Malaika said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Hanwi did not seem to care for the twinkle happening. It spoke of far than ordinary mischief. "A kiss. All shifter romances have that one defining kiss, yeah? I am also thinking that the cause of this specific hallucination can be linked to the fact that I read too many shifter romances. It would make sense that my first hallucination would be a werewolf. Let's not forget the fact that werewolves don't live in Kenya."

"Actually," Hanwi corrected, "there is a very vibrant wolf community in Kenya. They are just better hidden than most. " She hesitated. "Are you truly alright with a kiss?"

Malaika shrugged. "If you are not real, it's okay. If you are real, it's okay but you'll have to give me time to properly freak out. In all my fifty years of living, I have never experienced something as weird as this."

"Fifty?" It was obvious in the tone that Hanwi was reaching out to flirting. "You don't look a day over thirty."

Malaika could not help her smile. "Stop that, you devil. I am very happy about looking my age, thank you very much."

"Absolutely nothing wrong with that."

"You?" she asked, curiosity bubbling within her. "How old are you?"

Hanwi narrowed her eyes. "I am far older than you might think. My kind tends to age slower and live longer. Remain with the fact that I am older than you."

Malaika snorted. "You are full of shit, you know that?"

"Yet you are open to kissing said full-of-shit person."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's do it then."

In a flash, Hanwi was by her side, hand at the base of her neck, eyes piercing as they gazed into hers. "It's like you hold all the stars in your eyes," she said before dipping and kissing Malaika with the thirst of the desert soil.