symphonies exploding in the sky | elio

[Pteron]

and since you’re the only one that matters,----------------
----------------tell me: who do i run to?

Pteron had been present for the raising of all his siblings, but he had become less and less involved the older and more involved in his own life he had gotten. Elio had gotten the short end of the stick, Pteron’s recent absence in his life non-withstanding, and the dun stallion is reminded of that now as his brother stutters awkwardly in response to the teasing. He gives the excuse of lacking charm, and Pteron tilts his head curiously. He’d never considered how charming his brother might be, and the admission that he’s never experienced one of life’s great pleasures is an equally uncomfortable thought.

“You probably talk too much,” he replies to Elio’s excuse that no one has yet caught his eye. “I bet if you just keep your mouth shut you could pull off the tall, dark, and handsome look.”He glances down at the iridescent markings of his brother’s coat, a trait from their father that Pteron had not inherited. “Oh wait, the dark is just mud. I bet a bath would help too. I know Taiga’s coast is cold but Ischia’s only a short flight away.” Pteron knows this quite well, of course, having flown the course for much of his time in the redwood forest. “Come visit Aegean and I in Ischia, and I’ll find a nice nereid for you to meet.”

The quiet that follows is broken by Elio’s question, and Pteron is laughing long before his sibling stammers out a correction. “Great,” he says when he catches his breath, “all of the above are great, I mean.” There is more to say on the topic, of course, especially since Elio had been witness to Pteron’s sham of a marriage to Reia.

“Children are easier when you can actually co-parent,” he adds, referring to his own situation but aware enough of Elio’s own childhood to remain sensitive. “And love is easier without jealousy and possessiveness.”

@[elio]

-- pteron --