it erupts like a volcano, then subsides.
And when it subsides, you have to make a decision.
She had not realized how tired one could get when one has an eternity to live. And so, she had done the best she could for her beloved home, but the time had come for her to step back. She had slipped quietly into the shadows of the realm, allowing Ramiel to choose a replacement for her more worthy of the title. But she would remain here, forever and always. The Dale is her home, and regardless of her title or lack thereof, she would never leave.
And so she had slumbered quietly, until she had sensed a familiar presence. Though the gift of empathy is no longer hers, she felt she would always know when Tiphon returned home.
Now, months later, she knows the time has come. Her belly is round with child and it wants out. It does not take her long to find a secluded spot deep within the Dale, a peaceful glen which would provide the perfect atmosphere for Elysteria and Tiphon’s second child to enter the world.
Not for a moment does it occur to her that nature might have a surprise in store for her.
The labor is mercifully short, but even so, by the time the child lay on the ground, her red coat is streaked with sweat. Still, she is on her feet in only a few moments and cleaning the small girl of her birth sac. She is a beautiful filly, with a bright red coat tipped by white so reminiscent of Joscelin that it brings a smile to her face and a pang to her heart. She starts when she comes to her feet, blinking wide russet eyes in surprise as she takes in the talons flexing where her hooves should be.
Her scrutiny cannot last however, as it does not take her long to realize that she is not done. Rather than beginning to subside as it should, her contractions once again intensify. In only moments, she is struggling to bring another child into the world amidst intense bewilderment and happiness.
When she sees the child though, her happiness quickly gives way to dread.
”No.”
She whispers the word as she sees him fully, her heart climbing into her throat as grief threatens. Twice before she has seen her children lying dead at her feet, never even having had the opportunity to take breath. Twice before her heart has shattered into a million pieces.
Tears welling, she clears him of the debris of birth, all the while fearing the worst. His little body is skeletal, open wounds festering in dark skin tipped with gold. But then he kicks. His sharp intake of breath is the sweetest sound she has ever heard, and before she knows it, he is struggling to lay upright.
Blinking back the tears, she nuzzles him gently, thinking that perhaps Tiphon could heal him. Before the thought could even finish forming, her eyes widen as she notes the gaping wounds closing on their own, slowly fading into black and gold. He is still dangerously thin and scruffy, but he is whole. And, apparently, he has inherited some of his father’s abilities.
She lets out a soft sigh of relief, nibbling at his mane as she softly whispers his name.
”Jinn.”
Her fear for the boy allayed, she turns to her daughter, brilliant smile lighting her features with joy and warmth. She brushes her dark muzzle softly against the girl’s slender neck, offering her name as she does so.
”Estela.”
With love swelling in her breast, she lifts her head to gaze at her, at their, two perfect, beautiful, miraculous children.
You have to work out whether your roots
have so entwined together
that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
@[Tiphon]
my apologies for the novel :| apparently this gave me all the muse