She stayed at her momma's side, giving that rude boychild a side-eye. What was his deal, anyway?
Daddy came closer to brush each of them, touch them so sweetly, and her eyes lifted to him with quiet delight. His own gaze was not happy though, no light at all in them, and her expression faded instantly. Daddy was upset? Stay with Momma? Isntead of asking questions, she shrank back, clinging to Zoe's side. She was the only one that never left her.
She touched her lips to her sister's nape, lipping at the base of her pretty hair. Today was not as great as she'd thought it would be. Finding Momma should've been a good thing, but it just looked bad. Everything felt bad. The only good was the way Momma touched them, kinda in a new way, a way they hadn't seen much of before. It was so so nice and she wanted to keep it, but it was new and she didn't trust it to stay.
Nothing ever seems to stay.
"Girls," Momma said to them then, and Zynnie slid her eyes to her face and waited, firmly glued to Zoe's winged side. "Girls, this is your baby brother, Defy." What?
She looked at him, that small starry boy that was very much the boneman's child. That's their brother? How was that even possible. He didn't look anything like Daddy. "I don't understand," she whispered into Zoe's skin next to her ear as Momma introduced them right back to the winged boy, laying her cheek against Zoe's neck and feeling a tight knot twist in her tummy.