The shadow of the lion that Solace plans to discuss with me growls just beneath Svedka's skin as this conversation goes on. Solace notices the hints of its presence far sooner than I do (and how I wish I would recognize it sooner, too) but the fleeting moment disappears into the ever-folding layers of the present, as with all things noticed but left unsaid.
Svedka shows off his flower crown with a flair of acrobatics and tells a short tale of his time away, ending his act with a suggestive glance towards Solace's stomach. My laugh now plays in the background of the conversation, ears perked to listen to Solace's story of her return to pregnancy. The smile I wear turns for exuberant to tender in but a moment. Indius... Iridian... I blink away tears as I whisper their names like prayers within the confines of my mind.
"And what family we've found," I chime in with an emotional but happy tone, eyes gazing up at the handsome, flower-adorned face of my dear brother. "More than we could have dreamed of."
The conversation continues like that for some time, jovial and familiar back-and-forths transpiring as though years hadn't passed since our last meeting. The happiness this inspires comes with a bleeding ache deep in my chest, one that remembers our time away, and without knowing how, I realize that I have begun to tell that story.
"We descended from the Cove's throne when we realized that Solace's pregnancy required constant attention. We don't really know why but Oriash's time in the womb and subsequent birth came at a great cost." If only I knew the cost of our next daughter's birth, too. "I had to put us into a dream-induced coma. And when I awoke from that, Beqanna called me to her heart to take the final step in healing her from the plague..."
I look to Solace with pain in the forefront of my eyes. "Leaving Solace asleep with Oriash just born and still weak felt impossible. And when I died..." I glance to Svedka, gauging his reaction. "Well. I got to say goodbye to some friends, hello to others, and then I returned. It felt like a dream in the afterlife but more grounded. Like I belonged there. But my death was short-lived and I awoke on the other side, so many parts of me gone, so disillusioned, and with a new power. I found Solace soon after that and we escaped Beqanna together. Enjoyed some quiet time in the rolling hills Outside where we meshed quite well with a small community of others."
"I still miss her, though."
Panthera appears in front of us before I finish my last remark. Her likeness exceeds what I anticipate myself capable of and for a moment (before the chaos starts) I admire my handiwork. The leopard's prints, whiskers, eyes, and figure reflect an almost perfect image of my companion, she who rests now in the afterlife with my grandmother. Yet despite the apparent reality of the leopard before us, it consists merely of manipulated air particles, their composition made to reflect the sun's rays in such a way that Panthera becomes the emergent property of their collective shimmering.
If only Svedka knew that, too.
![[Image: kag]](https://78.media.tumblr.com/2e8039018ce4dff6112c167ec23e886a/tumblr_p72zjit7wC1s5a0qvo1_100.png)
dreamweaver