oh baby, I have not been kind
"You came," he said with a friendly smile, his grey eyes steady on her beautiful face before they took the rest of her in. His steps were casual and languid as he kept approaching, stopping a few feet in front of her.
"You look good." A bit of purple, like them. That was pretty cool. He looked back up at her, a softness in his weary gaze. He wondered if he could even reach the fun-loving flirty guy she'd known him to be. Not today, at least. He regretted that, but maybe she'd still enjoy his company anyway.
And Kali's.
He checked on her in whatever way he could, would nuzzle her sweetly if she was a critter placed where he could reach. You wanna meet my friend? She's pretty nice. He turned back to Umbra, his head tilting a little and white hair falling to the side of his face. And she knows how beautiful you are, he added, remembering the day Umbra had changed herself to Kali's gorgeous colors.
"This is my baby sister. Kali."
Who's now younger than her nieces. But he didn't bring it up.
"The other, with fins and looks like me, that's.." Well. Not really his twin, now. Older and with kids and another life. His eyes dimmed and his voice was quieter when he finished it. "Our older sister." Despite that her markings are nearly exact to his. Nearly identical. "And her kids," he added with even less enthusiasm, quiet and solemn.
But they were all here. And they were all safe. And they were all together again.
The family was whole.
I wish I could scrape away the dirt that's on my mind