The ice yet lingers in my mane and tail, and in Solace's, too. Though not unbearable, the crystalline fixtures remind us uncomfortably of our failures. Litotes succeeded, however; this makes up for our mistake, as arbitrary as it may have been at the time. The fact that Beqanna has begun her healing is also enough to placate my worries; that, and I've managed to yet avoid the plague.
Being quarantined is easier, now that I have Solace with me.
This evening, as twilight sinks into dusk, she and I and our youngest child all lay together in a small grotto on the backside of the southernmost mountain. While the cave's dimensions fail to mimic the one we occupied in Hyaline, we also have less demands for room, considering that we have but one child instead of three. Furthermore, a small stream runs through the back of this shelter, its fresh water conveniently refreshing us all whenever we need.
The sun sets, and our collective breathing slows. I can feel Aegean's perfect little head resting gently against my spine, with his legs bundled up against Solace - a relative tangle of baby and mothers. Occasionally his limbs flutter with the waves of a childish dream, the thin white lids which barely conceal those vibrant purple eyes flickering to and fro. A smile makes its way across my lips as my ears twitch back to catch the sound of his sleepy, snuffling breath; with my last conscious thought, I stretch to Solace, pressing a kiss and an I love you to her golden skull.
Later. My dreamscape is vague and shifting, alternating between wife and son as I offhandedly monitor their dreams. As the thalamus acts to the cortex, so too do I act to them, diverting ideas which I find would result in more pain than pleasure or learning. Occasionally I slip into the fabrics of their minds, interacting with them in the many abstract ways they dream up; this is usually erotic with Solace, and usually sweet and thoughtful with Aegean.
Tonight, however, I sense something different in my miracle child. With a careful step into his consciousness, I listen carefully to the dream unfolding in his young mind; an argument, between him and a duplicate of me, about... About what? As I strain to hear, the duplicate of me and my actual consciousness seamlessly meld, so much so that I don't even realize it.
"I don't care if it is dangerous, mother, I want to go."
"Aegean, you are barely three months old - you will stay home and do as you are told."
"No! I am going!"
"No, you are not."
It takes a moment for me to realize that this dialogue is not artificial, and that it is actually passing between his consciousness and mine. In the same moment as I realize this, I feel Aegean slipping from the dream, and I immediately know that it will be to sneak out of the grotto and to answer the call which all three of us heard some nights ago: to go to the mountain, to save Beqanna.
Desperate and certain that I shan't be able to wake up in time to stop my son (as stubborn as Solace), I dart briefly into Solace's mind, informing her as to what she may awaken to. Then, without wasting another moment, I leap back to Aegean, snatch his consciousness, and disappear.
We awaken with a jolt someplace else, a place I know rather intimately but which Aegean will not recognize at all. The air here chills our hides compared to the windless cave of our grotto; shivers alight across my spine, ears pinning against the base of my antlers. Whuffling anxiously, I reach desperately for the gently glowing figure of my son, breathing a sigh of relief as I feel his soft baby hair against the delicate sinews of my lips.
"Well, we are here now... You can thank me later," if we make it through this alive, I finish silently. The ice in my mane and tail is testament enough to the dangers which are to come.
Heart fluttering for fear of my child's health, I nudge him forward and follow behind, herding him towards where I know the meeting place to be, from last time. We arrive first, but many more will follow in our wakes I am sure. Glancing up, I think upon how the thin moon glows so similarly to Aegean; and then, I lower my head to listen to the Faerie.
Heavy sigh, and a shake of my head as the loss of my antlers creates a strange lightness in my neck.
"Back home," I mutter to the colt, now as unlit as the rest of us. "Come on, let's go."
The going begins quickly enough, with Aegean traveling confidently and spryly next to me. The others choose routes similar to ours, and I exchange words with those I know, looks with those I think I know, and awkward silence with those I do not recognize. For some time I forget my anxieties, trying to relax and prepare myself for what is to come, for it shall surely be worse than this.
We are over halfway to the Sanctuary when I realize that all the others have dispersed past where I can see; then, the sound of a hacking cough catches my attention. While my head raises, I do not veer off course to investigate the noise; unfortunately, the bearer of sickness comes closer, and my anxiety returns full force.
We are not in a safe land.
I am not immune, or infected.
Aegean is not immune, or infected.
This stranger represents a danger to us.
Inhaling with the strength of a broken window frame fluttering in a weak breeze, the stranger beckons to us:
"Please, please, won't you help me? I am dying - please, any help, any kind words."
My jaw tightens, and my ears pin. "Don't come any closer." The creature stills, clearly too weak to rebuke my orders. "I am sorry. We cannot stop." Feeling pained and lost to the arbitrary needs of the faeries, I turn my head away from the dying stranger, picking up to a canter such that the other will not keep up.
Maybe they will follow our scent to the Silver Cove. Maybe they will not die. Maybe -
My thoughts are cut off as Aegean and I reach the border of our home. Breathless and in tears, I clear my throat to hide my emotions; then, leaning down, I press another kiss to my son's forehead.
"We're here."
Permission to power play Aegean from Laura
![[Image: kag]](https://78.media.tumblr.com/2e8039018ce4dff6112c167ec23e886a/tumblr_p72zjit7wC1s5a0qvo1_100.png)
dreamweaver