all things are possible: Scorch

[Scorch]

WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT

As always, her son and his story reminded her infinitely of her own; their lives had become somewhat alike in the tellings and retellings of them. In the wake of Scorch's faux-mother's death (that being Echion), she had gone berserk. Freshly mutilated from her dragon dream, she had spiraled wildly out of control and had briefly abandoned the Jungle. Only Hestoni, who had met her in the meadow one day and had laughed at her flaming personality, soothed her, and coaxed her home, had managed to save her political career and yes, perhaps her life, too. And Scorch knew that Ilka had been Shahrizai's Hestoni, in the wake of her own death - they had spoken at length about it during previous visits.

Which was what made this visit, and this discussion, so much harder - because he had an intimate understanding of her connection with Hestoni through his own connection with Ilka.

He murmured that he missed her, too. She smiled but was glad that he could not see it from the way that they embraced, for the expression resembled something akin to a wince more than it did anything meaning to convey joy. But she straightens her face before pulling back to introduce her two children; luckily, her empathetic and observant son took no issue with this, having the grace to go with the flow and present a seamless character for little Blue.

It did end, however. With Blue scampering off to play, those inquisitive eyes (ones that she fell in love with the minute they opened, and whose depths she memorized the second right after falling in love) found her own, a cool grey ash at this time. Shah shifted closer and Scorch nearly withdrew, as edgy as he suspected if not more; she couldn't identify why she thought he might strike out against her, and felt silly when his touch was as reassuring as it had ever been. She didn't deserve him. Not in the slightest.

"I had a child with Brennen, Shah." She swallowed, failing to decide on how to go about this and instead allowing herself to shatter at the hooves of her son. The mare switched frantically between looking in his eyes to looking away, brows furrowing and tears pooling but stubbornly refusing to fall. Her withers twitched incessantly.

She knew how much her and Hestoni's relationship meant to Shah.
She knew this could break him.

"And I love him, too." A sob wracked her chest, but then her lips sucked tightly together in a refusal to make this about him comforting her. With the fierce determination that many knew her for, she found his gaze and held it in a vice grip, her expression intense but only because anything softer would unravel the seams of her undeniably tattered composure.

"I understand if this changes things, between us. I will always love you."

Scorch

Once Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle

@[Shahrizai]