"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Ugh. Fuck. Fine, okay, so. Maybe there’s more to being a man than getting the fuck out of dodge the second it’s clear which way the wind’s blowing. Not that I regret it, mind. I got Lacey and the kids away to safety, tucked them away somewhere out of my father’s reach. Or at least as far out of reach as anything ever was for the winged bastard. Just when I think the past is finally left in the past, he manages to show up and prove me wrong.
So.
If he’s never going to be truly out of my life, I might as well own it, make the damn terms. So I get my weird little family tucked away safe, leave Reilly in charge, and head on out for a goddamn parley. I may not want anything to fuckin’ do with him, but it’s more important that me and mine are safe than that I’m comfortable with how much distance there is between me and whatever’s left of Silver Cove.
Which is clearly far more than I thought.
I make my way around the back, walking across the water just because I can. Just because I love to, and maybe as a little bit of a fuck you. Except when I get there, the place is dead. No signs of life, or at least not of my species. The usual island wildlife, sure, but there’s no sign of the Kirinvasion. I take my time, make a thorough sweep of the island to make completely sure. Even stick around for a few days in case they what, turned around and went on a bloody vacation after staging a hostile takeover?
Nothing.
Fucking weird.
Fine. That’s cool. Got bored and decided he didn’t want the island if nobody else did, did he? Would’ve thought it was enough like the Cove that he’d make himself right at home, but here we are. Maybe the island itself told him to fuck off and die, and if so well then frankly it’s an island I still want to be a part of.
So I head back to my family, to let them know the (tentative) good news. We can go home.
I don’t exactly wait around to find out what everybody’s gonna do. They can come back to Ischia, they can fuck off and go somewhere else, makes no particular nevermind to me. Message delivered, I head right on back to the island, to make damn sure it’s still safe. Thanks to yours truly and the passage of just the right amount of time, Lacey’s pregnant enough that she’s gotta walk nice and slow-like, and she and Reilly are travelling with the twins. My cute, weird little family, on its way home.
And since they’re travelling so slowly, I still manage to beat them home. Good thing, too. I feel a little safer with the chance to do some reconnaissance, make sure the island’s still free of the purple scourge before they show up to settle back in. I circle around back, just because I can, just because the water’s as easy a road as any for one such as myself. Specifically, one with my gift for treading the waves. Not just ‘cause I’m shiny or sexy as fuck, no, though I mean those are important points to consider too. In other circumstances. Focus, Kirby. Right.
Anyhow.
Backdoor entrance, just in case. It’s maybe the least likely to be watched. Sky, sure, and the bit toward the mainland. Not too terribly many of Beqanna’s residents are the seafaring type though. Mmm, seafaring, I like that. Me and my little band of pirates. Whatever, regardless, I come in the back, give the island a good patrol, and head toward the inland side. Landward side? The bit that’s closes to the mainland, where my family’s gonna show up. And I stand on the beach with my usual roguish grin and wait for them to arrive.
He'd been gone for days. It shouldn't have bothered her, not one little bit, but it did. She grew edgy and antsy in his absence, her flamable temper far shorter than it already naturally was, her veins glittering with hungry sparks just ready to ignite. It was probably just the hormones. Probably just the urge to be near the safety of the father or something.
The slightest flicker in her peripheral had her eyes flying to search the movement for him. So stupid, so pathetic. She didn't even like the bastard.
God, and finally the sunlight glimmered at her as though reflecting off a mirror, lighting up his metallic body and blinding her. It was the insane brightness that burned her eyes and plucked tears to the surface, of course. Not the stupid hormones or the unwanted rush of relief washing through her that he was finally back and in one piece. Damn this stupid bastard for making her give a damn about him.
She glanced at Reilly as Kirby explained the situation back home. Or the lack of a situation, thank god. Those bastards. Strong, dependable Reilly, a constant in her life now, in the kids' lives. She was sure he would be coming with them, glad of it. With everything going on lately they hadn't had much time to really spend together, and maybe that would change soon. She turned back to Kirby as he finished and gave a short nod.
Yeah, lets get the hell outta here. I want to go home.
She called for the kids and started walking. Everyone would catch up, she wasn't exactly running anywhere any time soon with this unwieldy bulk around her middle. Not that she minded completely, though she wouldn't admit it. Those sweet little kicks from her insides made her go all soft and glowy sometimes, when no one was looking of course. She couldn't wait to see how this little one would turn out, and hoped it wouldn't be another set of twins that seemed to run in her family. One more was plenty, thank you. Especially when unplanned. Thanks, Kirby. Bastard.
And there he was to greet them when they finally arrived. She was exhausted, her back ached, bathed in a rich sweat and huffing, hair tangled in her face. And all she could think is how badly she wanted to knock that stupid smirk off his face. She was glad she'd be having the baby at home though. So damn glad. This place was her life. Their lives. Home.
And damnit if they hadn't been through enough already, now some twit demanded she accompany her back to her hell-hole of a home. Did she really have to? Like a kidnapping or something? Well, fine. Whatever. But clearly they weren't going very quickly.
She sighed. So damn exhausted and now even further to go. Her weary brown eyes turned to Reilly, always Reilly. She swore one day she would make sure he didn't feel like a permanent nanny or something. Somehow. She'd make this right. Always having the kids dumped on him. But he was the only one she knew besides their father, and the only one she could trust. The only one bothering to be in her life. And the kids loved him.
Watch them a while, Reilly? Don't let them try to follow me.
And with Kirby at her side, she set off on yet another unwanted adventure away from home.
It’s not like they got a choice in the matter, but honestly, they can’t complain either. Well, perhaps about the long journey they now had to make. Again. But that was all. And, just as she had liked the clear water of their private lake, she liked the rolling of the waves too. The rising and descending of the water, as it changed with the tides. And, with high water, there were times nobody would be able to enter or leave the isle, except for the twins and their sire of course.
So of course Kylin finds herself trailing after her dam, closely against Kharon’s winged side and glancing across her back every so often to make sure Reilly was still coming along. He had always been there, was a part of their family, and she simply couldn’t imagine a life without him. He had been there from the very start. And from there on like an anchor in their life.
Where Reilly and their dam were bound to the path that surfaced through the water, she chose to take the water path. Why would she stick to the sandy path when it was much easier – and more fun – to just create her own? Or well, follow Kharon on the path her created. She reaches out towards him, her muzzle lightly brushing across his shoulder, as to check if he was still there. Kylin needed the contact to be sure for time to time.
Unlike Kharon, their dam left their sides again. Hazel eyes follow her mother’s form as she walks away, barrel swollen with yet another child. She does not like it. Nor does she understand it. Was something that wrong with them that she dumped them again at Reilly’s side? Not that Kylin would complain about that part, she liked the big almost all white stallion and because of this type of events she needed him around. He had never dumped them. Silently she presses herself against her brother’s lavender and white side, telling herself that as long as he wouldn’t leave her everything would be alright.
Their time at the lake was fun. He and Kylin got to race across the water like the God-gifted angels they were. So beautiful. And he loved stretching his wings as he ran, letting the gusts stir up the water beneath him to a mess of waves and splashes that his feet disappeared into as he ran completely unhindered across it as if it were any other surface. It looked so cool. He thought Kylin maybe liked it too, which only made him want to do it more.
But mousey-brown mother called for them and it was the end of their vacation. He'd be sad to see it go, but he missed home. Plus there was tons of water at home too! In the island and surrounding it. Plenty to play... on.
He walked side-by-side with his beautiful twin, pressed up against her comfortably as they took a path above the water where only they could go. It was rare that they went anywhere without the other. His velvet nose swept across her neck, tapped at that soft place behind her jaw that smelled so strongly of her scent. She reached for him too, touched his shoulder and warmed him through. His wing draped over her back so it wouldn't keep him from being even closer. She was used to its weight over her, used to him clinging so closely. And they stayed that way through the whole journey.
And as he poured his quiet affection onto her, he stole glances of the world around them. He took note of the lush, green mountains they were leaving behind and did his best to convey them to sweet little Kali, still calling mother's belly her home. He was the only one that could speak to her, and she was a secret he loved keeping. Once, he thought he might tell Kylin, but eventually decided against it. He didn't want her to worry that she would ever lose him, always here at her side. Even if he did ache to share the name he'd given Kali, as perfect and beautiful as their own.
So he kept it quiet for now. And did his best to silently paint their surroundings for Kali, sending his thoughts to her as he clung so tightly to Kylin. Tried to describe the songs the birds chirped, their colors, the movement of the ocean as they finally neared home, and oh! The look of father as he waited for them!
His eyes lit up and he catapulted himself to him, wings flapping in haphazard excitement. He crashed into the strength of that shiny-shimmery body, crushed himself against him with the impossibly unyielding worship of a boy for his father. Dad was perfect; he'd be perfect one day too. They were all so beautiful, just like him. He beamed up at him without a word, driven speechless in all his excitement, thoughts too swift to catch long enough to repeat, aloud or otherwise.
But naturally his attention returned to Kylin and he drifted back to her side, settled himself against her again with a sweep of his nose to her cheek. Hi, he whispered with a smile, letting everything else fall away for a moment. Mother spoke and he turned back, dismayed. She was leaving again? Oh no, and she was taking father with her! He moved to Reilly's sturdy side and pressed into him, wiping a silent tear against him to hide its passing down his cheek.
Why can't we go with them, Reilly? When will they be back?
