Brothers of fire and shadow stalked the night walker that was their sister - their lover. Though they rarely made it obvious, they kept her within their apricot hued sights always, never letting her moonlit hide become too swallowed in mist and fog. The behaviour itself was not unusual for the brothers, who always were more protective of their kin, and Rishima was now more to them than their kin - she embodied the perfect mare in their eyes, she and Mirage both, each one perfect in their own dynamic balance of imperfections and perfections. And now, she held something they never dreamed possible - a child, a new life, and one of their blood.

Rishima was not of their blood, not until now. They brothers remembered that night, but not straight away. Each held scars from where the other had lashed out with sharp hoof and tooth, where a battle of dominance had ended in an equal serving of one whom they treasured more than ever now. Protecting their sister was not unusual, but the reasons for it now were probably viewed as such. Their little moonbeam would bear their seed well, she was the only one capable - surely, for they had bedded many a mare in the past and none had carried their seed to term, as far as they knew. Whatever became of their coupling that drunken, passionate evening would be magnificent.

The entire night long they stood vigil, moving with smooth, swinging gaits, sketching a perimeter about her, deterring any wildlife or herdmates that were not related to them away with a polite but firm telling. They knew that she laboured long and hard - and that was unsual, for Mirage's birth had been swift, even with two children to birth. As they passed each other, eyes would lock onto one another, and silently they would share in the concern they held for their little moonbeam. She would bear their babe successfully - there was no other alternative.

The dawn came, and with it, new life was brought into the world at last.

Coming together with a synchrony no amount of practice could ever perfect - they simply were synchronised - the brothers' paths became one and they approached their beloved. Crowns lowered, and sharp eyes scanned the scene with swift, keen acuity. Within their breasts, hearts thrummed with a passion akin to the night that led to this wonder, and within their throats, low, guttural greetings were summoned. Without hesitation they brushed their maws against the dark mare's, before moving to give space for the gryphon and her parcel, and the aflamed youth who lay in the middle of it all. Within her they saw themselves, their father, their beloved.

They smiled.

"Rise." Madyrn's deep tones, laced with warm encouragement, spoke, his crown lowered to the eye level of the filly.
"She is like you, Mish." Maskan added, equally warm as he beheld the fathomless depths of his sister's eyes. Aye, she was their beloved, but she would always be their sister, even if it took a lifetime to properly bind them by blood.