He wasn't sure what he had expected to happen next, but whatever it was the appearance of the twins had not been among the calculations. Warned only by the sudden trilled greeting from Akaith and Fajira, the head of the stallion suddenly jerked up and away from its position on the fragrant rump of his leader, skin burning beneath the dark mask of fur as two very curious fillies crashed the silence. Gilded eyes swept over two pairs of interested eyes, one inquisitive while the other appeared more demanding, decidedly more scrutinizing. The weight of their gazes made the old equine shift uncomfortably, ears twitching nervously atop the poll as he returned their gazes.
"Your daughters, I presume..?" he mumbled from the corner of the mouth to Mirage, not so much in questioning as to get a confirmation. He felt torn between a sudden need to pull away from the warm embrace of the shadow dragon and preserve what little dignity he had left, and ignore the interested look on the girls faces and go back to what he had been doing... Which would be scandalous, to say the least. Would the twins mind him being so close to their mother, would they tell their father, would Mirage move away from him now and break the contact between their bodies? Thoughts reeled through his mind, unsure of which option that would be most unfortunate.
And then it was all brought to a halt, a sudden chilling stop as a single question erupted from the gold-scaled girls maw, innocent as only a child could be but with implications that could go far beyond decency.
"Do you love my mother?"
...
Was he supposed to answer that? Yes, yes the look in the little half-dragon's eyes was serious and demanding, and suddenly Lace was sweating in the cold winter breeze. A quick glance was thrown at the WeyrLeader whose warmth he still could feel against his rump, somehow able to keep the panic away from the eyes. He couldn't say no. How could he? The intensity of his feelings had long since gone beyond that of simple friendship, far beyond that between a leader and a subject. Already after their first meeting she had intrigued her, and after their long conversation on a storm-struck beach his loyalty and gratitude towards her had been carved in stone. That affection had only deepened as time went by, unbeknown to even himself, until she finally had bridged a distance Lace had been too respectful to cross.
The vague suspicions that had budded as she first embraced him was now bursting into full blossom. Hefty feelings both harsh and sweet and bitter and elating rushed through him, so strong that the crafter had to take a deep breath in order to contain them all. Did he love the girls mother?
"I do" he said with soft voice and managed a kind smile as he looked back at the girl who's name he still didn't know - very, very careful not to look at Mirage, lest she discover just how deep his feelings for her actually was. "She is very important and precious to me, and to the whole of Qian. As are you, little girl, and your sister."
Gently, as though he was tearing himself away, the stallion pulled away from the black mare and opened up a distance between them. It was hard, maybe one of the hardest things he had ever done, but with a firm grip on his own reluctance he still managed a graceful sidestep, shuddering unnoticeable as the wind replaced the warm caress against his skin.
Indeed, he loved Mirage. But with that knowledge also came another, more bitter realization that made Fajira pause in the midst of a dive and quickly veer towards him to fly in a large, comforting loop around his head. He could never have her. It didn't matter how his heart ached and raced at the thought of the two of them together, it was already too late. She belonged to Vikram now, to her children. He neither could nor would want to intrude on what they had together, it wasn't in his nature to sneak around and accept the scraps from others. Lace wasn't one to share, and with that he also resigned himself to a life of watching and wanting something he could never have.
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