The dragonmare wanted to feel happiness, joy, she wanted to mean the smile that painted her face. And on some level, she did. Her love for her nieces was instant, undeniable, and in that, her feelings and smile were genuine.

She didn't know why she felt so hurt otherwise, why she felt so betrayed, so.. left out. Left behind. Shoved aside. Forgotten. An afterthought.

She had no right to these feelings, not really. Her fickle heart clung to those who were kind to her, for so few were as she grew up with her dragonsblood marking her forever different, forever strange. Tandavi had always held her love, the Fire Dancer could do nothing to jeopardise the weight of love Amaris held for her (which made it hurt all the more when these things happened).

Mesec however, was just a friend, just a friend, who she had danced a warrior's tango with, who she had known since she was a child, who had always made her feel like she belonged. Even just as a friend, she had loved him on some level, she knew. And she knew he was a father, she had assumed he had a mate, a mare holding firmly onto that part of his heart.

But a small, sadly defiant voice inside her cried out, 'If you were to deviate from your mate, why not choose me?' She hadn't realised before now that she might have considered him, might have felt that way, might have allowed him into that part of herself, and that caused the hurt to sting all the more bitterly too.

She heard the words her beloved Tandavi uttered, and she merely pressed herself against her copper cousin in response, silently forgiving even if she did not embrace the feeling of forgiveness completely within her. It didn't matter, for she would be here anyway; she would not turn away from her cousin, her family - even Mesec was bound by that now, whether he realised or not.

Golden eyes peered from each party present, giving attention to all in turn, offering that cheerful, congratulatory smile wherever she looked, making the right noises when Neaera discovered her second companion, and indulging her sister, Savera as she begged for her attention too. Whenever the opportunity arose, the dragonmare would press her soft maw against each girl, blessing them, kissing them with a warm breath, hoping to imprint on them in some way that they were her family, that no matter what, she would be there for them, always.

Dramyrth rose from her back, then, also alerting her to the arrival of Vesper. She recognised the young filly from their encounter with the fire-cheetah, the demon-creature that had been the one to place the four glowing stripes upon Amaris' chest, and had known long ago that she was the daughter of Mesec and some unknown mare, some mate she assumed Mesec loved dearly because she herself had been raised in a family that loved all involved dearly, and never strayed from that love, that commitment.

She sighed, frustrated that her thoughts were only going in useless circles, knowing it was better than the vacant numbness that had resided there before but finding her mind no more productive than when it had frozen up just after the Moon Goddess' announcement.

The dragon atop her back purred, bringing her back to the present, and suddenly she knew what was to be done, and she whickered softly, her attention upon her beloved nieces, a smile that hinted at playful deviousness tugging on her lips - and it was, for a change, completely genuine. Lowering her tiara to their level, to meet their eyes and speak to them directly, she spoke: "Dramyrth and I have some gifts for you."

The dragon wandered down her lowered nape, and with practised dexterity, removed the bracelet that had been the DragonHeart's from around his neck, and deftly moved to stand before Savera and affix it to her upper foreleg (for it was still too large to fit around her cannon or dock yet). Then, to Neaera, he retrieved a golden crown that they had found in their wanderings, and affixed it to the child's brow.

The gifts were fitting, Amaris thought, for one child seemed to favour golden hints and the other silver, and the gifts matched them both. Amaris was reminded sorely of her sister, of Semira, of how she would never see her again, with the destruction of Helovia imminent and the option of fleeing to the lands where she resided an impossible one to consider.

With nothing but love in her eyes, she looked at the girls, and vowed to always be there for them, in whatever capacity they required her to be.

Amaris