I KNOW I NEED US MORE THAN I NEED ME
"Please, please, please, please, please, momma please, please take more for a walk." Momma's sleep-heavy gaze befalls me with reluctance as I whisper to her, careful not to wake mother as she sleeps nearby. The clear twilight sky above us promises to illuminate me in the coming hours, though for now my figure appears plain save for the translucent outline of my wings. Momma groans and mumbles something I don't hear, though my ears swivel to catch the words; upon her rising, however, I forget of them and jump about. The coconut trees ruffle their leaves in agreement with my excitation.
"Baby, be quiet," momma whispers, placing a firm kiss atop my ruffled poll to soothe me. Eager to please (or rather, not eager to dissuade momma after all that), I still. If I could hear momma's thoughts, I might even have laid down with her just now, reminded again of how much Iri's dreamlost-state exhausts and distresses my parents. But I do not hear momma's thoughts and am instead left to the thrill of being taken away from home for an adventure, one of the few I've had thus far.
The strangeness of being a twin with a dreamlost sister waxes and wanes in my small body. Tonight, I feel it like a pressure in my legs which I misinterpret as a need for movement; and although I discern by momma's frown that she'd prefer to stay and watch over mother and Iri as they sleep, I also recognize a compassion in her nutmeg gaze.
"Let's go," she murmurs, and with that, we depart.
We get to the forest some time later, just as the last streaks of the Beqannan sunset bid their farewell. Already my wings become brighter, the starlight above seeming to fall down into my feathers until, as we thread our bodies through the tall birch trees surrounding us, I glow with the power of all the stars above. My shrill, boyish laughter leaks across the land with a simple confidence, followed by my light. Momma plays along with me as we go, a genuine smile making her scarred face the most beautiful I've ever seen. Besides Iri's of course.
Iri. The thought of my sister brings me to a dead stop in the middle of the forest as my eyes, one blue and one black, peer through the blackness with the intention of memorizing every single detail of my surroundings. "To show to Iri when I fall asleep tonight," I explain when momma asks if I'm all right. Subdued now, I pick my way across a log-strewn section of forest and am about to reach back and preen my wings when, all at once, a filly pulls up just before me. She, too, glows. I wish Iridian could see this.
"Hi there, are you okay?" I ask, the youth of my voice making me sound more like a girl than a boy, though I do not mind that. With my wings clutched to my sides in an attempt to dim their brightness (which could be perceived as alarming I'm sure!!), I step closer to the girl as sweat drips from her forelock straight to her nostrils as they flare and unflare with gusto. "I'm Indius, that's my momma back there, can we help you? I promise you can trust me..."
Momma, some steps away, lowers her head in agreeance with what I've said but otherwise remains uninvolved. I'd been the one who wanted an adventure, after all.
"Baby, be quiet," momma whispers, placing a firm kiss atop my ruffled poll to soothe me. Eager to please (or rather, not eager to dissuade momma after all that), I still. If I could hear momma's thoughts, I might even have laid down with her just now, reminded again of how much Iri's dreamlost-state exhausts and distresses my parents. But I do not hear momma's thoughts and am instead left to the thrill of being taken away from home for an adventure, one of the few I've had thus far.
The strangeness of being a twin with a dreamlost sister waxes and wanes in my small body. Tonight, I feel it like a pressure in my legs which I misinterpret as a need for movement; and although I discern by momma's frown that she'd prefer to stay and watch over mother and Iri as they sleep, I also recognize a compassion in her nutmeg gaze.
"Let's go," she murmurs, and with that, we depart.
We get to the forest some time later, just as the last streaks of the Beqannan sunset bid their farewell. Already my wings become brighter, the starlight above seeming to fall down into my feathers until, as we thread our bodies through the tall birch trees surrounding us, I glow with the power of all the stars above. My shrill, boyish laughter leaks across the land with a simple confidence, followed by my light. Momma plays along with me as we go, a genuine smile making her scarred face the most beautiful I've ever seen. Besides Iri's of course.
Iri. The thought of my sister brings me to a dead stop in the middle of the forest as my eyes, one blue and one black, peer through the blackness with the intention of memorizing every single detail of my surroundings. "To show to Iri when I fall asleep tonight," I explain when momma asks if I'm all right. Subdued now, I pick my way across a log-strewn section of forest and am about to reach back and preen my wings when, all at once, a filly pulls up just before me. She, too, glows. I wish Iridian could see this.
"Hi there, are you okay?" I ask, the youth of my voice making me sound more like a girl than a boy, though I do not mind that. With my wings clutched to my sides in an attempt to dim their brightness (which could be perceived as alarming I'm sure!!), I step closer to the girl as sweat drips from her forelock straight to her nostrils as they flare and unflare with gusto. "I'm Indius, that's my momma back there, can we help you? I promise you can trust me..."
Momma, some steps away, lowers her head in agreeance with what I've said but otherwise remains uninvolved. I'd been the one who wanted an adventure, after all.
Indius
""