[private] the crushing weight of paradise

[Kagerus]

Kagerus

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

As we stand there in consideration of the land which will house the newest additions to our family (little Iridian and Indius, whose spirits, personalities, and thoughts become more realized every day), I find myself contemplating perfection. In the aftermath of our abdication, of Oriash's belaboured birth, of my death in the name of healing Beqanna of her plague, and of our journey Out, I'd feared for the happiness of our future selves. Though I knew and will always know that I find my best self just by being with Solace, I also knew that we had potential for so much more.

Little did I know just how much more.

Before I'm able to express my surprise at the scent of Solace's twin brother more than nearby, Svedka explodes between us with that intoxicating grin sat just so on his handsome lips. The happiness I feel at his resurgence expresses itself as an invasion of melancholia; an ache so deep that the tears running down my cheek do better justice to how I feel than the warbling smile which finds itself attached to my lips. 

Perhaps this emotion comes from the memory of him just after my attempt to end my life, perhaps it comes from the dozens of times after that wherein we exchanged oddities (he apples and fruits from close and afar, I with sea shells, feathers, and the like for his mane). Perhaps it comes from the pain I feel at not knowing where my own brother, Khaedrik, rests his head these days.

Alas, I waste no more time with the analysis of my tears and instead lean the entirety of my weight into Svedka's shoulder when he turns to kiss my cheek. "Brother," I garble into his mane, getting my teeth stuck there but not caring at all. In a flash those same teeth find their mark on the stallion's insolent neck, all the fury I've felt since he abandoned me and, more importantly, my wife. "You are a fool and I hate you." Before the words can cause any true impact, I grin up at Svedka from tear-laden lashes; in an instant, a crown of flowers (yellow daisies, baby blue orchids, and pink sweet peas) befalls his head.

"Welcome back, pretty boy."

From there, I watch with joy as my wife and her brother reunite, their embraces as easy going as I imagine they were when the two were but unweaned foals. When Solace explains the newness of our arrival and then question Svedka's, my ears perk and I blink away my tears. "And don't spare any details," I chime in, eyes glittering with evident love.

@[Svedka]