[open] my heart has started to separate

[Viszla]

Both pairs of pleading young eyes are a stormy blue grey, though Ravin’s are only so because that is the shade of the sky overhead - full of clouds and the promise of rain. Myrna looks down into those eyes, her own narrowed as if in deep thought, as if denying their request is a significant possibility.

But her eyes soften, and are joined by a smile as she nods and laughs: Yes, yes you may go play in the waterfall, but you must watch out for each other, and you must not go too deep, and you must take Feather and no, no you may not ditch Feather if she herds you back from the deep water.

Twin nods of excitement agreement are the answer, and soon the sound of eight hooves, four paws, and two (still uselessly) flapping wings fades into the distance. Myrna turns from where she has watched them crest the hill, and slowly meanders back down a flower lined path on her way to nowhere in particular.

@anyone

[Tersias]

A lifetime of peace may have made Tersias grow up as the first in his family without severe trauma but it also has begun to make him restless. Like an itch in the back of his mind he cannot help feeling that there should be something more. No one else seems to mind so he keeps these thoughts tucked inside, assuming it is a defect allocated solely to his heart.

So he begins to travel, learning all he can of Beqanna - thinking that maybe he will discover something along the way that fills his need for a cause.

Today, with the sky overcast, he finds himself in the Gates in search of a familiar face. It has been a while since he’s seen his elder sister Myrna and the sight of her pale form brings forth a smile out of him. He moves towards her - his golden eyes just catching sight of the retreating youthful forms and forgets to give an actual greeting and jumps straight to assumptions. “Am I an uncle?”


@ Viszla

[Viszla]

Myrna had thrived in the quiet peace. She’d found solace in the stillness, and had finally had time to put back together the parts of her that had been so deeply scattered. She’d even begun to worry that she liked the solitude too much.

The twins had been the final salve to that old wound, to her fear that she might somehow inflict an even worse childhood on Luvi and Ravin than the one she had endured.

Each day with them - with their inextinguishable curiosity and unconscious trust - reassures her. She is smiling at the thought of them even now, when her dark eyes finally focus on the horse that’s been drawing closer, and recognizes him with a widening of her bright expression.

“Only if you stick around long enough to meet them,” she teases, their last meeting having been little more than a quick hello as they crossed paths. “I don’t know how much of them you saw, but the girl is Luvi and the boy is Ravin.” They’ve got longer names, as well, but Myrna’s not quite ready to subject her younger sibling to the moon-addled ramblings of the children’s father.

@Tersias

[Tersias]

Tersias laughs at her comment, his golden eyes warm at the teasing - which was entirely fair. Like the other siblings he knew, Tersias had nothing but affection for Myrna but it was rare when things seemed to work out to when they could spend time together. For no real reason at all - he was hardly busy - but then, what would he say? He had no children, no even real interest in becoming a father, and nothing new had happened once he assumed he reached the end of finding the limits of his powers. He wasn’t convinced he had enough of a personality to keep anyone entertained for very long.

But now, well, why not give it a chance anyway?

He listens as Myrna introduces the foals and he shakes his head with a grin. “What is it with our family and twins?” There seemed to be no shortage of them - with the exception of himself and the mare standing before him. As far as he knew, anyway.

The foals being out of sight now he keeps his horned head turned towards his elder sister. “Did you know you were ready to be a mom?” The question may be a little too intrusive but now this is where his mind has ended up and he’s not even sure what else to ask - what are the chances the Gates have been anything other than peaceful.


@ Viszla

[Viszla]

“It saves a lot of time when building a large family,” She replies with a soft laugh.

Prior to their birth, Myrna had never wanted children of her own. Or rather, she had been certain that she wouldn’t ever have any. There was too much that could go wrong, too many ways in which she - or the world - might go screw up and leave a child damaged. It was better to not subject them to such an existence, better they stay a concept that she rarely thought of.

Even when the world became peaceful, when she became peaceful, she did not often think of children. She had a family - scattered as it was - and she felt no desire for a love like her mother and Firion’s, nor for the children that might embody it.

She hadn’t realized she was pregnant, not until she’d felt them quickening. And in that moment, when she’d realized what it was, what it meant? She did want it - them - more than anything.

There were a few days when the fears tried to resurface, tried to remind her of all that could go wrong. But she pushed them easily away, replaced them with the certainty that she would be able to do this parenting thing the right way.

This world is a better one, and she intends to keep it that way.

“They were an accident,” Myrna answers with a wry smile. “So I’m not really the best to talk about readiness.” She pauses for a moment, and eyes him with faintly narrowed blue-grey eyes. “You’re not thinking about having some, are you?” She asks with teasing that stems from sisterly concern, and then adds: “It takes a long time for them to fly, and I doubt they could keep up with your adventuring.”

Though they are not as close as they had once been, when Tersias was her baby brother and needed constant watching, Myrna does not doubt for a moment that he has done as much growing as she has in the time that has passed. Perhaps he wants to settle down as she has, Myrna thinks, to find comfort in habits and predictability.

Or, as she eyes him, maybe he’s decided the opposite.

@Tiersias