Seren
She flinched slightly, grimacing under the reminder; it hadn't been intentional, but Sah was right.
"Yeah, it is," she admitted, not sure now if she should be telling him about the other gifts her mother had granted her. The star-critters, the gravity pulse; intrinsically tied to her being. Enough to be called secrets? They didn't feel like something she should have to hide, though.
As Sah went to sit down, Seren followed and seated herself by his legs, facing him rather than leaning against trunks. Cross-legged with elbows resting on her knees, she raised her eyebrows and was about to protest when he wanted to trade in his own secrets. There was no need, he didn't have to tell her anything at all. Especially not -
But he was already talking, and the starchild was too polite to interrupt. "That is rather strange," she mused. "Last names usually indicate older bloodlines; my father was apparently a noble of some sort in his old homeland, and I inherited his name. Do you like it? Suddenly having more names?"
Then her new friend pressed on, and the conversation suddenly did not feel at all lighthearted or casual. Was this what Sah meant by secrets? Children offered and lost - it was overwhelming and Seren felt her chest ache from the mere thought of it. Hotaru's face swam into focus in her thoughts, her pain and pride and protectiveness; instinctively she reached out to take Sah's hand in both of hers, unable to speak. The lump in her throat was too big, impossible to swallow down.
"Yeah, it is," she admitted, not sure now if she should be telling him about the other gifts her mother had granted her. The star-critters, the gravity pulse; intrinsically tied to her being. Enough to be called secrets? They didn't feel like something she should have to hide, though.
As Sah went to sit down, Seren followed and seated herself by his legs, facing him rather than leaning against trunks. Cross-legged with elbows resting on her knees, she raised her eyebrows and was about to protest when he wanted to trade in his own secrets. There was no need, he didn't have to tell her anything at all. Especially not -
But he was already talking, and the starchild was too polite to interrupt. "That is rather strange," she mused. "Last names usually indicate older bloodlines; my father was apparently a noble of some sort in his old homeland, and I inherited his name. Do you like it? Suddenly having more names?"
Then her new friend pressed on, and the conversation suddenly did not feel at all lighthearted or casual. Was this what Sah meant by secrets? Children offered and lost - it was overwhelming and Seren felt her chest ache from the mere thought of it. Hotaru's face swam into focus in her thoughts, her pain and pride and protectiveness; instinctively she reached out to take Sah's hand in both of hers, unable to speak. The lump in her throat was too big, impossible to swallow down.
It's written in the stars above
Exactly who we are is just enough
Exactly who we are is just enough
