Let the shadows fall behind us || Kagerus

[Kagerus]

Kagerus

{ and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times }

In the green-blue of the Tephran moonlight, Tang graces me with her voice -- deep and full, indicative of a life well lived. My lips and brows quirk at her words, my mind somewhat caught up on how beautiful and familiar this mare seems to me. Like a mixture of my father and my wife (what a strange thing to say but far be it for me to condemn the intricacies and patterns of close-bonded families) she stands, her aura a crow of pride, autonomy, and adventure; it simmered now rather than boiled, now, but was apparent nonetheless.

"Coming from you, that's nearly a request," I toss back. "You know full-well that I can take you anywhere you'd please. There are adventures yet for you, or so I dream." A wink punctuates my sentence, my smile a direct reference to the joy this conversation brings me. "Anyway, that's about all you're missing out on from me. We both were in love last I recalled. And -- I do hope that Warrick is doing well in his retirement." A pang in my chest tells me that I want to say something with regard to their old age, to the chance of their passing -- but my connection to the afterlife stops me and allows me to take a deep breath.

Luck becomes me, in that way. Death represents but a new chapter for the relationships I hold.

I have a feeling I will be able to tell her myself soon enough, allows Tang with a coy twist of her tone. My ears perk at the words, nutmeg eyes slivering in mock-suspicion. What does she know? I thrum a rhythm of curiosity in the water beneath us, sending particles of water vibrating in intricate patterns; they splash and play a tinkling accompaniment to the lyrics of our conversation. But surely you didn't return just to see your old mother in law - hahaha. Tell me what called you away from your wife and little Indius and Iridian.

The doting-daughter rebuttal I'd had on the tip of my tongue tangles at the Seer's last words and I choke a little, the sound shifting to laughter without hesitation. "Uncanny," I chortle, shaking my scarred head in a wide arc, back-and-forth. When I recollect myself somewhat, I turn a keen eye upon Tangerine, my laughter yet evident in their depths. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that, you know."

Indius. Iridian. Their names (selected but nights ago) bring up feelings that don't quite have words yet; warmth, spirit, color. The essences of our sixth and seventh children had only just become noticeable this week, and Solace and I had waited some time to confirm that there is, in fact, two little souls growing in her womb. When their dreams presented as distinct and separate, we rejoiced: twins. Twins! The warmth of my expression conveys the depths of my love for them in the moments where I contemplate my response.

"Well, I happen to have sensed you here as I slept, but... I am also in search of a place to settle down within Beqannan borders once more. It must be years now since Solace and I abdicated the East's throne and later departed..." Memories of her ill pregnancy and of the quest wherein I died in an effort to cure the land of its plague cloud my mind for a moment, poignant and undeniable. A quick snap of my head clears those thoughts, however. "And, as you have seen, we are expecting." My smile takes on a proud edge, chin tilted just that much higher as I think upon the babes. "I've promised Solace a vineyard in exchange for our return -- though of course, she doesn't need the convincing. I just like to spoil her." My laughter vibrates in time with the water below.

Speaking of the water, it rises up now. Shaped by my mind, it forms two small bodies, foals who will hopefully come to be within the next year. They shimmer blue and green, rearing up on their watery hind legs to mock-battle one another before racing around the pool. When they stop before me with breathless heaving chests and brilliant smiles, I cannot help but to smile back before allowing them to fold back into the pond.

The smile weakens, though, as I meet Tang's eyes again. Memories of the times I failed as a mother cause my throat to tighten.

"I just hope to do well by them. It's the least they deserve."