in my thoughts i have seen rings of smoke through the trees, & the voices of those who stand looking.
"I wondered the same." Otem replies instantly, her mind a whirl of complex dedications and assumptions. That Vulkan calls her a mare (while techinically correct), leads her to believe that all her twin knows about the ruin-interpreter is her gender. "Her name is - or was - Yael. She studied under mother. I do not know whether she is alive or not. But it would be interesting to hear her thoughts on these particular ruins and their possible connections with the one erected back in Helovia."
Before the autumn-touched girl can say more, a boy bounds towards her. Although internally she wants to tense and clench, to disappear from view or make up some excuse about why Maura cannot be a part of this discussion, she instead extends her wings as well as a smile. Otem is more than proficient at hiding her dark and unsociable side, and as Maura reaches her side, she allows a wing to gently drape over him, welcoming him to her as if they are the oldest of kin. Otem shoots a look towards her twin to suggest that none of this is that difficult (since she assumes he will be watching her and wondering why she has lifted her wing to receive the boy, and why she is smiling down at him).
"Mauna!" She beams down at him as her twin introduces himself. Although the mistake Vulkan makes is a forgivable one, Otem still shakes her head to indicate to her counterpart that he has made a mental mistake somewhere in his deductions. Then again, had Otem not known Mauna's lineage she too would have likely thought he was a son of Volterra. "He is a son of mother and Zekle." Otem clarifies, "Though you are correct when you said Father ushered him through. It just wasn't our Father."
Otem doesn't bother to interject as Vulkan interprets Mauna's statement using the primary definition of the word neat. Often she will if she thinks that he has strayed too much from conventionality, but in this instance she sort of thinks that his confusion is warranted. That, and if Mauna is to really know his sibling, this is certainly part of that. One needs to be precise around Vulkan, if nothing else.
"What brings you here Mauna? Is Iskra with you?" For a brief second as the filly mentions the name of the sparking boy, her heart quickens its pace. Just as quickly it stops though, and she feels a chill prickle through her body, wondering what she will do if her brother says yes.
Siren's Summit
