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Delta averted his gaze shyly. "U-um..." Embarrassed, he glanced towards his mother for help.

Beta smiled sadly. "Sweetie... that's not the only thing you missed," she said quietly, trying to break the news gently. "Eku had an... incident with a violent human, and he..."

"I lost a lot of my memories," Delta finished, seeing his mother faltering. He smiled brightly. "I don't really miss them, but it did mean I forgot about you..." His smile grew sheepish. "Sorry. But it is good to see you well, Iota."

Delta shuffled nervously and smiled sheepishly again. "I-It's ok! I'm fine. Good as new! You don't have to get upset." Her heart showed what her face didn't--and the stallion could see it clearly. Beta had once said that he'd been afraid to tell Lacey about his ability when they were younger, but he wasn't really sure why...

Beta was confused, but nodded. Maybe her daughter just wasn't quite ready to completely rejoin their family...

~

Grimm had been planning on obeying Iota's wishes, but then he'd seen the Bayrel heading in the foals' direction soon after their mother had left. Following the creature, he soon deduced that the creature was following their scent. The children were in danger. He spun some straw into gold and made a little lasso with it before taking off after the Bayrel. He tackled it with his hooves, trying to keep it down long enough to slip the little loop of gold around the creature's muzzle. He succeeded, but only after getting some nasty gashes on his legs and stomach. Then he struggled to keep his opponent on-leash and away from Iota's precious babies. He heard panicked noises from the bushes, but he couldn't say anything to sooth them; some of the golden string was clamped between his teeth to help keep the Bayrel close.

Grimm couldn't help it; he lost his hold on his makeshift muzzle as Iota swooped in and tore the Bayrel apart. He stared at her for a minute before composing himself and calmly speaking to her. "Iota... It's alright. It can't harm your babies now. You need to calm down." The last thing she needed was her children to be afraid of her too.

Grimm frowned and joined her by the bushes. "They were likely startled by the Bayrel's snarling," he concluded. "They couldn't have gotten very far." He gently nudged her in the direction they would've gone in, hesitating before lifting his muzzle to wipe some of her tears away with it. Then he wordlessly disappeared into the brush, silently searching for the tiny foals.

Delta, meanwhile, had attempted to follow his newly reintroduced sister. She'd been distressed and he'd hoped to figure out why... What he found instead was a cluster of scared blankets. "It's alright," he soothed, laying down near them. "I'm not gonna hurt you. C'mere..." He lifted up a wing, the foals quickly shuffling under it and sticking to his side. Chuckling, he lowered the wing over them, keeping them warm.

Delta blinked when his sister came over and started counting the foals under his wing, his gaze softening when he saw her tears. Smiling, he scooted closer to her, draping his wing over the foals between them and letting the end rest on Lacey's back. "Does this mean I'm an uncle?" he asked cheerfully.

Grimm stayed at the edge of the little forest clearing, not wanting to interrupt. This was family business, and he was not part of their family. His part was done, so he should probably go... And yet, he couldn't seem to pull himself away from that spot.

Delta beamed. "Congratulations, Iota." He tilted his head slightly. "But why didn't you bring them with you?"

Grimm dipped his head in acknowledgement, then disappeared into the shadows of the forest. It was amazing how much those two words could warm his heart...

Delta watched the other stallion go, posing a second question once he left. "Was that your mate?"