Progress was a little slow when it came to travelling Helovia with twin foals - but Mesec didn’t mind, it was amazing how little he minded. Sure, it would have been a quick trip with a combination of his wings and his teleportation, but with each passing day he was getting the chance to get to know his kids.

It was still intensely surreal to him that they were his. At least a couple times a day his mind whirled around that information, and it was strongest when he opened his eyes and spied them both nearby. Two little drops of night that were perfect, utterly perfect. Obviously, they must get that from their mother - Mesec never felt less put-together than he did lately. Like he was just fractured pieces that were being held together with nothing more than luck. Well, luck and them. Despite the fact that it was becoming increasingly clear that he had no idea what he was doing, the twins were grounding him. Giving him a goal to aim for.

They hadn’t run away from him yet, so maybe that meant he was doing an okay job?

They were getting closer to the Edge and night had fallen once more - once the twins were tired enough they settled in a cozy spot near a small grove of lantern trees - the weeping branches bearing glowing pink and orange fruit that transformed the area into one touched by dawn instead of the middle of the night.

Lucius’ wing was still injured and he laid nestled in the crook of Mesec’s wings, cradled by the soft black feathers, as the demigod checked over the twins and made sure they were comfortable. The silver, glowing marking on the zephyr’s back showed a crescent moon for the one that should hang in the sky - but the day had turned overcast and now neither stars nor moon shone in the sky. Mesec was thankful for the light of the strange plants in this grove as he moved off to the side - for the way they softly illuminated the sleeping foals so that he could keep an eye on them with ease.

He didn’t move far, it was just a few metres to the water’s edge where he wanted to go, but each step away from them his thoughts darkened. That blinding, all-consuming hope that he had felt in the Veins only surfaced infrequently now and he found it difficult on this moonless, starless night to believe that somehow everything could be okay.

In the end, Mesec was only pretending to be a father - pretending that this average life could be his. What right did he have to even a sliver of happiness after what he had done?

Was Zero happy right now?

Lucius emitted a sad, low call that echoed across the small lake - both the thoughts of the demigod and his companion turning south towards the Throat, wishing for the ability to see across the distance.