After the meeting ends and everyone disperses their separate ways, you leave, too, too tired to want anything but to rest among your family.

Your family - if Gaucho's death taught you anything, it's that your family is far from the mother and two sisters you once believed it to be. It's even more than the new brother - it's all the brothers, all the sisters, all the foals who gathered at Gaucho's fallen body and then some more, probably. You never really had an appreciation for just how prolific Gaucho had been before this, but now, as you stand among this sea of foals, you begin to understand just how far your father's seed had spread. Who will stand before them now? Who will be their leader, their father, their hero in the darkness, now that the WildFire has gone out? Who will guide your sisters, your brother? You know you have older siblings - where have they gone?

Is it really only you?

Your mind is heavy as you follow your mother, tying to keep close to your sisters (do they hate you, you wonder? They seem to hate everyone), your limping gait leaving uneven tracks in the sand. When Ma stops, you stop, your sunbeam eyes trained on her as she begins her obligatory your-dad-just-died-and-then-I-had-another-of-his-kids-but-it's-gonna-be-ok speech. You're still a little upset with Ampere for her outburst at the death; add that to the latent frustration of Hey, remember how you left us? and you have a comfortable well of aggravation in which to hide from your other, much more complicated emotions.

A pool which you settle into now. You're not ready to deal with the alternative yet.

When your Ma starts handing out her things, well, that's when your comfortable aggravation flickers into vibrant concern. You watch in stubborn silence as she hands out prized possessions like so much candy, your mouth a thin, hard line, desperately out of place on your boyish face. A tiger skin for Tae, a blade for Grusha. A knife for you. Part of you wants to reject it, to throw it back in your mother's face. This is supposed to be- what? A consolation prize? A bribe? I know I was gone and your father died, but here, have some shiny shit? You're angry, which perhaps makes your more your mother's son than ever before, but for once you bite your tongue. You don't want to make a scene in front of your siblings.

You want to be strong.

Ampere is fading, failing- you can see it in the frantic lines around her eyes, the way she grinds her teeth. She's scared, just like you are, or so you believe. And with that thought you realize something- she needs you. Your Ma, your rock, the person you admire and love and hate and need most in the world, needs you.

You step forward and turn, placing yourself firmly amongst the girls and and your mother, making a triangle out of your forms. Your face is serious, but with a little bit of its usual light, with a stubborn affection and sadness and hope. "It's ok if you can't be there sometimes, Ma. We're always gonna look out for each other. Always. 'Cus we're family, an' we'll always be family. Right?" You direct this last question pointedly at the girls, before turning back to Ampere.

You reach out and rub your nose across her cheek, a gesture of- what? Forgiveness. Understanding. Maturity. Love. "Thanks, Ma. We'll keep each other safe."

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