Ignite

Chapter 1: The Lion and Joy

A/N: Hey. Thanks to the one person who has read this. Love you too fam. But this is what I've wrote so far. Comment what you think. Chapter 2 will be up soon ;) (I hope). See ya!

It was not raining, it was not thundering, it was not cloudy, it was not anything special. The sun was shining and a little boy sat in a tall plastic chair, too tall for his legs to even reach the ground, with his father, both dressed in suits. The father had a rigid spine, the kind only acquired after hours of worrying; the little boy, on the other hand swung his legs in circles, squares, stars, any pattern he wanted to. Then, he would scoot back in his chair, lean his head against its artificial back and count ceiling tiles. Finally, he would turn his head to the nurses when his father was too tired to listen to him chatter and talk endlessly of what he had read or whatever his inquisitive mind could conjure. This cycle repeated for hours upon hours, after the man had taken off both his and his son's jacket, after the nurses had stopped paying them any mind, after the little boy had read through each of his books thrice over. This endless pattern was broken only by the calming voice of the nurse asking, "Sir Icarius? Your wife is going to give birth soon. Would you like to come in?" She turned her head to the little boy and said "hey little boy. You're going to be a big brother soon. Are you excited? Do you want to come in with your dad?" The boy turned his head to his father and frantically waved his hands around. "Dad, what if they don't like me? What if they think I'm a bad big brother? What if I am a bad big brother? Dad what if they won't play with me? What if they're scared of me? What if they're scared of you? What if I hurt them?" he asked. The verbal vomit from his concerned child only served to amuse the man further, as his lips twitched up into the first smile seen on his face since they arrived in the hospital earlier in the day.

"Alyzeus, my darling son, your sisters will love you as your mom and I love you. There is no need to worry about being a bad big brother because you love your sisters even more than your mother and I do." The last reassurance made by this man, the father of Alyzeus, resurfaced a fond memory of his.

Sitting in the bedroom, Icarius sat with his beloved, his mate, his wife, who hand a hand on her belly. "Alyzeus is so excited to meet his sisters. He's been telling me how he's decided on painting the nurseries by himself." she said, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

"Asterodia, he's been telling me how he wants his sisters to have a present from him when they're born. He's already gone out and bought them."

Alyzeus came barreling into the room as soon as his parents had mentioned him and made a straight path to his mother's stomach. He leaned his head to her stomach and whispered reassurances to his sisters, telling them that he loves them and everyone will love them. He turned his hopeful eyes to his father who nodded his head in indication that he would meet his sisters soon.

The nurses all sighed in relief when both girls were born healthy and crying. Each nurse took one child and gave them a bath, dried them, and swaddled them in blankets before giving them back to Asterodia. Icarius had tears in his eyes as he saw his daughters for the first time, held by his wife. Alyzeus was vibrating in excitement and wonder at them. As Asterodia's exhausted deep blue eyes met the teary dark purple eyes of her mate, they both knew what to name their children. "The firstborn of the twins will be Rowena." she said and, as if she knew they were talking to her, baby Rowena opened her eyes and smiled. The purple of her large eyes reflected all the joy of her father, mother, and brother. Asterodia continued, "the second-born of the twins will be named Cordelia"

ミ⛧ミ⛧ミ⛧ミ⛧ミ⛧ミ⛧

Cordelia giggled as she hid behind a pillar. Rowena crawled nearby, searching for her twin sister, confused as to why she couldn't find either her brother or her sister. Alyzeus smiled and muffled a laugh behind his palms as Rowena turned and sat down in confusion. Suddenly, she started to cry, scaring both siblings into rushing towards the source of the distressed noise. As soon as they approached Rowena, however, she stopped crying and giggled at her brother and sister for falling for the same trap that they always fell for. Three year old Rowena looked the picture of her father, with his sharp features and his plum colored eyes. Alyzeus, the prodigal son, was the splitting image of his mother, with her round features, almond shaped eyes, and high cheekbones. Cordelia, with her black hair and eyes resembled her sister with a different coloring. At the sound of their mother's calling, the siblings scrambled towards the call of their parent. As they sat down for dinner, Asterodia, with a knowing smile formed on her face, greeted her children and sat them down with their food. "Aly baby," she said, "I've heard of an opportunity for you to enroll in a prestigious school near the capital. We'd have to move, but the school would enable you to start on your path to becoming an official researcher for the crown. How does that sound, darling?"

Upon hearing this news, Alyzeus perked up, his eyes brightening at the prospect of furthering his dream. "Mom, do you mean it? Where would we live? What about your jobs? Would Dely and Rowy have a place to go to school?" Icarius smiled, and hushed his son.

"Aly, your sisters would go to the same school as you when they get older. We'd also be able to stay in the castle because the king and queen are great friends of your mom and I. Doesn't that sound nice? You and your sisters would have new playmates. The king and queen have children around your ages." He turned towards his daughters and said "Deucalion was telling me how there are foals that he's teaching his sons how to ride and would be the most happy to teach you both as well. Pyrrha also wants daughters to teach sewing to, so she'd be the most excited to have you all over. Would you like that?"

Rowena swallowed her food carefully before nodding her head gently in affirmation. Cordelia, on the other hand, shook her head frantically in agreement with her sister, her cheeks bulged out with food and the legs of the chair quaking in her joy. Icarius turned to Asterodia and gently smiled while looking around the room. "Looks like it's time for a move, right dear?"