Although Ampere was one that preferred to suffer these moments alone, where her weakness was not so obvious or well known. It didn't matter that he had already seen her in those moments plenty of times before, or that he was too often the one that picked her up and put her back on her feet. Those were times in the past, and like any moments where one was sunken low, it was best not to remember them, best not to build your image on them. Ampere needed to seem strong, even if she was anything but in most scenarios.

Yet for all her talents at sneaking, it was not her career, and the Wildfire that burned the desert touched everything. That he saw her, found here, was here did not surprise her, but it did annoy her. At least, until she felt that warm embrace that was his presence and more. She never would have thought it, but she appreciated his new penchant for healing.
Still breathing heavily and doused in as much sand as sweat, Ampere nonetheless felt the strength slowly ebbing into her as the fire seemed to consume her weariness rather than her flesh. She tilted her head to let a tired eye locate his feet, even though she didn't need the reassurance that it was him. When the effort was too much she settled it back to the ground, watching the eggs struggle for freedom, recognizing in a sickening memory how much it resembled Kygo's release (from one jail to another). The parrot, catching her thoughts, trilled in excitement. Unlike Ampere, hatching continued to be a thrilling event for the bird.

Abruptly Zero was there, rushing in as headlong as ever, his hooves scattering sand while his wing caught the wind for balance. Without hesitation her body rocked to her sternum, allowing her better access to view her son, even if laying in the swaddle of flames felt so much better. "Zero," she answered, breathy with exertion and a touch of surprise, possibly even fear. In one tumultuous moment Ampere realized that this entire time she'd been nursing her own wounds and sheltering herself from everyone, that had included her son. Her son, who had actual injuries to be bothered by. her son, who she needed to spend time training given his recent behavior and affection for battle. Her son, who was no longer the baby after today.

How utterly selfish she had been.

The dawning recognition of her own greed was just another log on the fire of her self-hatred that burned circles in her veins ever since the trip to same place. Dread crept like ice wherever the self-loathing didn't touch, leaving behind freckles of doubt and fear that hurt worse than frostbite. How in the fuck was she supposed to raise two foals!? She had barely managed with the one, was still managing him, and already she felt run ragged. Would these two even survive their first season at this rate?

Reeling, Ampere almost didn't hear the crack of the eggs, almost didn't see the bodies plopping out one at a time. Duty calls some vindictive part of her hissed, and ruefully she remained laying, wondering for a sparse moment if she could refute the responsibility of these two kids. For all the fucking Gaucho had given her, she'd rather have wallowed in misery than gotten pregnant.

I'm still wallowing she thought mournfully, because then the screwing hadn't cured anything. Damnit!

Still, she could not resist the instincts of her body, the same instincts that got her in this trouble. With Gaucho's healing she wasn't nearly as weak, so she had no reason to stay down, no need to struggle. Still, it'd be nice if he could nurse the twins. The thought drew a partial grin, one that became a grunt as she heaved herself back to her feet. Her wings steadied her for balance, and remained held out as she shook the debris from her coat. "Thank you" she muttered to Gaucho, and her tone didn't reveal if it was sarcasm for the foals, for the twins, or if it was gratitude for the healing, for his continued support.

She held her son before her, heaving a lofty sigh before putting on a smile for him. "Zero, my little lightning... only not so little any more. Can you help me check on your sisters for the first time?" She reached out to lip gently at his mane before passing by onto the girls, the girls whom seemed more concerned with each other than anyone else present. It would be a completely different relationship she'd soon come to find, than the one she shared with her boy, and certainly a different one from the neglected Aithniel (and the unknown Hertz). Where Zero had been born clearly lacking, where he had been alone save for her, where he had needed her and she him - these two seemed for all the world as if only each other mattered. Bonded already.

As she neared, Ampere gently drew her muzzle over them, inspecting, coaxing, cleaning and drying and taking them all in. Her's.

Theirs.

A M P E R E
PRETTY FACE AND ELECTRIC SOUL