Welcome to Gaia! ::

Tears streamed down her face, leaving ghostly trails on Aella's beige skin. It had not been long ago, it seemed when the world was right and her and Chanterelle were wishing upon a star. That was when the future was bright and they were about to be the mother's of not one but three kids.

But the fires had swept everything away, every last bit of it. Every hope and dream, save one was gone. She looked towards the heavens, "You have given me so much when I had nothing. A family. Now I am alone without the mare I love. I am raising our son alone when I thought it would be together. I want Chanterelle back, I don't want to do this alone. But I know that recalling the dead is not possible, that where she has gone--she cannot come back. The only way to see her again, is to join her. But I cannot. I promised her, I promised Epitaph. So I ask that I don't have to raise him alone, that I can have some small piece of Chanterelle back--a sibling for Epitaph to grow with. I don't want him to be lonely, I want him to be okay. And I want one last reminder of her, before I have to let her go and go on."

Carefully, Aella laid the yellow jewel down that Chanterelle had given her. "Please," she closed her eyes and let the wind carry her whispers to the heavens.

Her heart thumped loudly as she saw it lying there. Perfect and pristine--a basket. She had thought that her wish had been denied by the Wishing Star that for some reason it would not be willed so...And yet, on this most inconspicuous night she'd woken up to the rumblings of a wicker basket.

It looked the precise blue of Chanterelle, a shade of cyan that made her heart catch in her throat. The snake wrapped around the basket though was a bit unnerving. She'd never been fond of them--but Chanterelle had.

She stood up gently trying not to wake Epitaph who was curled tightly to her. The snake hissed softly as she moved forward in the dark light by lightning bugs. Her nose touched the basket and the snake slithered up to her and touched her skin with it's scaly body, it's tongue flickering very near her nose.

Tears cascaded down her face, wet the wicker of the basket which seemed to shift beneath her tears. Her wish had been granted. The dark night of her soul lifted a little, and she sensed the foal as though it were a bright light in the darkness. Epitaph wouldn't be alone.

"Thank you," she whispered hoarsely.

Aella sighed, looking at the magnifigent basket. "It is. It's a brother or sister for you. Someone to grow up with, someone who you can tell about your other mother--someone you can share things with."

His face was aglow and his eyes shining bright. "It won't replace your mother or your siblings. But it's a final gift from them to let us have the love we miss from them. Do you understand?" Her voice was soft as she pushed back the hair from his forehead.

Witness had heard the voices for the first time days ago. The sounds were soothing. Soon they became what she listened for and longed for above all else. The voices made her feel so warm and happy, snug. Those voices were soquili that loved her already. When she came out of her basket, they were there.

A mare stood tall above her with bright red hair that hung in waves down her side. Her eyes were the most unusual colour. Without ever having seen her, she knew that this mare was her mother--that when this mare spoke, it would be one of the two voices she had loved from her basket.

The snake slithered off her basket and up curving around her wobbly leg. It's soft hissing and slithering had been another companion to her confinement in the basket. It squeezed her gently as though reassuring her.

The other one was small--a bit larger than her. His hair was lush purple, red, and blue's and his eyes were blue like the sky. A little cross anchored on his back, a small little shadow flitting around the little gravestones on his back. His hooves were red, like their mothers. And somehow she knew that he was her brother--the one who had painted dreams of love and friendship as he'd talked to her each day. He'd spoke about their mothers, about how he loved her and was going to be the best big bother ever. His voice was the most beautiful sound on earth. She couldn't wait to go on all the adventures he had spoke of. He'd told her about the swamps and snakes and water. He'd told her a lot of things. He told her what he was scared of, what he wanted to do, what he thought, and what he didn't know.

Looking at him for the first time, she knew him. Her mother's voice was soothing as she spoke. "We've waited for you so long Witness."

"You're my momma," she gazed up into those beautiful red eyes. "Aella." The name sounded so beautiful on her tongue. "Epitaph," she spoke his name slowly. "You're my brother. And I'm Witness, like the song right momma? The one you sing." She wobbled forward on her legs and buried her head into her mother's chest as her brother laid his neck over her.

She pressed her ear against her mother's chest and heard the heartbeat her brother had described to her over and over. The whooshing and thumping sounded like the continuation of a song she'd been listening to in another room. "It sounds just like you said Epitaph." She nestled closer to them both, eager to learn the sound of her brother's heart and follow him on any adventure he'd take her.

"Of course mamma!" Epitaph smiled up at her before looking back at Witness. "She has my eyes too!" He wiggled excitedly staring at his sister. She was scaley like snakes or lizards, which was cool. In fact, it was about the coolest thing besides if he had had scales himself.

She was completely different shades then he was. The only thing that matched him exactly were her eyes. Her hooves were similar but not the same colour only shape. Her hair was thick and blue that made him think of the half-light before sunset. She had little horns and a long snakey tongue that were just too cool.

"What's your snakes name?" He asked curiously. "And what kind of adventures do you want to go on? Momma says we have to wait till you're a bit older before we can. But we will go on lots of adventures!"

"Oh yes, many," Aella smiled. "But my favorite adventure was the one that brought me to you." She could not be prouder of her two children. Witness had more of Chanterelle's coloring, which gladdened her heart. She could see so much of her in her, in both of them.

Witness couldn't help but giggle again. "You've been on adventures already mamma?" She wondered how many her mom had been on, and how many more she would go on. Was there only a certain number of adventures one could go on? She hoped not. She wanted to go on adventures for forever.

She watched as her brother excitedly opened his claw jar. The tiny little bodies of light floated out lazily and drifted across the dimming sky. They twinkled like her own personal stars. Witness heart fluttered in her chest as she watched them. He had done this for her. "They're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," she sighed watching them blink in and out.

Witness yawned sleepily as she watched the night for the first time, familiarizing herself with the sounds she'd heard from within her basket. She moved over to her brother and nested down beside him, laying her head over his neck. The steady thrum of his heart pulsed beneath her skin. "Thank you," she said gently nuzzling him.

She looked up at their mom with wide eyes, "Yes, tell us the story mamma!" She wanted to hear about their mother's, she wanted to know the adventures they'd had and maybe there really were pirates. "Were there pirates? Or bad guys? Was there monsters?" She shivered thinking about monsters lurking in the night. But she felt safe here with her mother and brother. She knew they would protect her from anything.

Letting out a big yawn, she focused her eyes on her mamma ready to listen to whatever story she had to tell.