Stavanger Bay gently, gently, the constellations aligned

“And her children…”

There was a thoughtfulness to her tone and Rannoch tilted his head, intrigued. As far as he was aware, he and Cypress were Eshe’s only kids. “Well, I’m... “ he hesitated for a moment, his eyes darkening at the thoughts of his misfortunes. “...here.” That was suitable enough. “I also have a brother, Cypress. He’s with my parents, I assume.” There was an undertone of longing in his voice and his heart wrenched in that moment. What was Cypress doing? How was he holding up? The boys had never been separated for more than hours at a time and the distance that separated the children was slowly killing Rannoch.

With the waves at the head of their conversation, and gentle crashing in the background, Rannoch remained stiff at its mention as his frown deepened. “What if I don’t want to learn?” he countered stubbornly. “I like the woods, not the ocean.” He would always be the prince of the evergreens, after all.

To her final words he nodded, though curiosity rose from his dark facade once more. “Why when the moon is waxing? Why not tomorrow?”