Ouroboros Spine Midnight, somewhere

Ink realized quickly that they may have overwhelmed Aiolos with their questions, but the man took it in stride. They obliged his request to walk with him, listening intently when he began to speak. Of their siblings, only one remained; Vaire had been by the sea when last they'd seen her, but now she was here, and a mother! Ink was shocked and awed by this, but kept quiet so that Aiolos could finish.

An aunt, he called them, and they were not sure how they felt about that. Ink was neither aunt nor uncle, they felt, but what then could they be called? This, the unending dilemma of their life; they searched always for a place where they might fit and, always, the answer was nowhere.

But these were thoughts for another time. A sister gone, one they'd never met, but their ears lowered in solemn sympathy all the same. So many new children, They commented softly. Can I meet them? Can I - can I stay here? Here; home; the place they wished they'd never left.