"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
html code by Toli, design idea based on "Dovev" by Laura
He tells her "ooh love".
It had been a while since she last had a one on one conversation with Father. And even though she didn’t like it that he had taken Kharon away from her side more and more often lately, she would have to admit that playing on the waves together with Father had been fun. Very much so too.
She was looking for the purple and white metal stallion, ears twisting to catch sounds as her hazel gaze wander all across the island. Kylin had searched the beach first, because that was one of her more favorite places, but he hadn’t been there. So instead she now wanders towards the little clearing in Ischia’s jungle where their family usually ‘nested’. ”Dad?” she calls before she has even reached the place, dipping her head to duck under one of the low leaves, before entering the small clearing.
A smile lies on her lips and both her ears pin forward. For a moment Kylin just holds still, though her body is tense in enthusiasm already. Then she stands in front of him, bouncing up and down her forelegs as she looks up at him. ”Can we pleaaase go play with the waves again?” she asks him, hoping he would. And maybe, hopefully, he could teach her some new tricks, ones that would amaze Kharon when she showed them to him.
I made things hard on the two of them, I know. Maybe I could’ve done a better job explaining. Probably I should’ve talked to Kylin too, instead of trying to pawn that conversation off on her mom. But hell, if Lacey’s taught me anything, it’s that I’m far from the best at figuring out what’s going on in a female’s head, at least when it’s more than you’re dead sexy and I want that hot iron dick inside me. Now. Hey, that I can do, that I get just fine. Nothing complicated about sex. But the feelings thing? Fuck, man.
So I let it go too long, left it up to Lacey to talk to her and hoped for the best, and I can’t help but think maybe I fucked it up anyhow. Maybe that talk should’ve been my job. So when she calls for me, I’m all hers. Kali’s with her mom, and I’v got no other commitments, not if my daughter wants to talk.
Or is being adorable and bouncing and excited and wants to go play. I’m always down for a run out on the ocean. “Of course, love. Any time. Now’s perfect for me, and there’s just enough wind to make it interesting today off the Northeast side. We can go wave diving, if you’re game.” It’s just a trick of the mind to switch the gift off just enough to dive through the waves to the other side, and it’s this killer rush, too. Might work a little differently for her since she’s not nearly as heavy as I am. But it should be close, and I’ll be there to help if it goes awry. Kali thinks it’s a fun game, hopefully Ky’ll dig it too. “What do you say, baby?”
html code by Toli, design idea based on "Dovev" by Laura
Like a flower waiting to bloom.
If she would only know that Father was behind Kharon’s strange behaviour, she probably would’ve greeted him completely different. Or, in matter of fact, not at all. But she doesn’t, would never have guessed it either, as they’re doing nothing wrong in her mind. The only thing she’s aware of is how Father had spent time with Kharon alone, and had taken him out to explore beyond Ischia.
But now it was her time to spent time with Father, and she surprised herself with her eagerness and enthusiasm. It was impossible for Kylin to not smile widely as Father agrees to play with her and instantly she presses closer to brush her lips over his metal cheek. She’s bouncing already. ”Oh yes yes, that would be fun!” she tells her father with a wide grin as she pulls back, now finally standing still, but all muscles tense and ready to bolt.
Never before had she done this diving game, but it sounded fun. Everything that involved water sounded fun to Kylin actually. The water was as much part of her life as her twinbrother was, and the rest of their little family. ”How do you dive?” she asks her father, her dished head tilting slightly as she looks up at him. ”I know I can swim, if I want to, but I..” she pauses, shivering as she remembers the time Kharon accidentally had sunk through the surface of the water, his wings pulling him down under.
”.. I’m afraid to sink.. like Kharon that time..” she finishes much softer, glancing away for a short moment before looking up almost pleading. ”Can you learn me how to dive, dad?”
“Of course, princess. C’mon, I’ll teach you. You and me, and your brother and sister, we don’t have to worry about drowning, not once we know the basics. You’re safe, love, and you can always, always get back to the top of the water with nothing more than a thought and a few steps. Alright?” I pull Kylin in for a hug, holding her close and then pulling back to brush the hair off her face. “You’ve got this, baby girl. And I’ll be right there with you.”
And for as long as she wants, I’m all hers, running across the water, diving through the waves, playing and laughing and catching her anytime she needs me to. Teaching her more about our shared gift, and how to keep herself safe and have fun on the water. And when she’s finally ready to stop, when she’s all played out and ready to head back to shore, I tuck her up against my side for the walk back to dry land.
“Kylin, love, there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,” I say, reaching over to brush her forelock out of her eyes. “And I think I should start by apologizing for not having this conversation sooner. I shouldn’t have tried to put it on your mom the way I did, I’m just not the most talented person in the world at navigating feelings, especially when they belong to someone female. Hell, ask your mom, you know? Seems like every step I take with her is the wrong one. But I wasn’t being fair to either of you, and I’m sorry about that.”
Is there any way this can go well? I guess that’s not really the point, is it? My job’s to do the hard shit, say the hard words no one wants to hear when they need to hear it so bad. Need to understand. “I talked to Kharon, baby girl. I caught him looking at you, and we had a long talk, him and me. He told me how things have been between you two, that it’s crossed the line from brother and sister to something more...complicated. That your feelings for each other aren’t the innocent sibling kind. And baby, I understand how that happened. You’re close, you spend so much time together, your bodies are changing and you’ve got all these hormones rushing through your veins, and you’re growing up. Both of you.”
I sigh, glancing over at her briefly as I search for the words to say what I need to say. “You can’t be with your brother like that, honey. Any other guy, and there are so very, very many. You can find one who isn’t blood, who’ll treat you right. Hell, you can find more than one if you want, and girls too if that’s something that interests you. But not one that’s related by blood, and especially not so closely like that. You can’t. That’s not how family works, baby. That kind of love, that’s for outside of family. It’s good to be close to your brother, but not that kind of close. You can’t kiss him like that, can’t touch him in ways that stir your blood. I’m sorry, baby, I know this isn’t something you want to hear, but it’s important that we talk about this. So, uh. Talk to me?”
html code by Toli, design idea based on "Dovev" by Laura
Like a flower waiting to bloom.
Relief washes over her when Father tells her he will teach her, and that she won’t drown. And neither would Kharon and Kali. ”Yes!” she tells him with a smile, gladly snuggling up against his cold, metallic chest. With Father around, Kylin didn’t worry about such thing, not at that moment, but maybe when she would first try it on her own. But, daddy would teach her. So she nods, still smiling.
By the time she finds herself at his side again, exhausted as they walk down the beach, she doesn’t know how much time they spend on the sea. The happy grin on her lips says enough. But it’s not long before it falters. Out of nowhere, Father gets all serious and … fatherly? Not that Kerberos hadn’t been like a father to her, but this serious talk was something new for them. At least for her, perhaps not for him.
Kylin’s frowning as she looks up to the purple stallion, her head tilted slightly to the side. ”What are you talking about, dad?” she asks, obviously confused and at the same time incredibly uneasy. This wasn’t the kind of conversation she wanted to have. She backs away, ears also flicking back as she becomes more insecure. This was going to get awkward, and probably no fun.
No fun indeed. All she can do is stare up at her Father, blinking her hazel eyes at him as she lets all just flood over her. So much information hit her all at once and it was impossible for Kylin to not put one and one together to make two. Father was to blame for Kharon’s strange behaviour? For him pushing her away, leaving her behind? ”No..” she murmurs, casting her gaze as she shakes her head and backs away further. Now her ears are pinned back and there is an obvious frown upon her face. ”No” she repeats, looking up to meet Father’s gaze again. ”No. We’re meant to be together. That’s how we were born.” Of course Father would know that, but he hadn’t been there at that time. Only Mother and uncle Reilly. And that was just the point she was trying to make. Perhaps to hide her own hurt.
Kharon was hérs. He belonged at her side. Kylin would even go as far as to say that she wouldn’t be complete without him. That was not going to happen, not if she had a say in the matter.
”You don’t know anything” the replies, shaking her head once more while backing away. ”We’re not wrong, doing nothing wrong. No, no, no!” Her voice raises the more she says, anger, frustration, hurt. So much hurt. Of course she would fight for what she wanted, but.. Kharon didn’t, did he? He turned his back on her. ”No..” she murmurs, shaking her head, realisation settling in. He did listen to Father. ”He promised.. He promised to not.. not..” Kylin doesn’t finish, instead she shakes her head as she creates more distance between them, unable to meet her father’s gaze.
