Samira sits up, hugging one of her pillows.

"It started out okay. But then I got to the city, and I was trying to sneak around, and I almost got caught by some people who would've eaten me and I was scared and hiding and. Um."

"I guess I was trying pretty hard because I- exalted? And then Lady Luna was there and she brought me home."

"Oh."

"'m sorry you almost got eaten."

"Didn't, though. So it's okay."

"Yeah."

"Did exalting feel weird?" She's staring at Samira's caste mark, a little, and at the swirl of Essence around her.

"Yeah. A bit like... taking a deep breath after being underwater for almost too long."

"Huh." She pokes Samira's caste mark.

She pokes Samira in the forehead.

"Hey."

"You've got a thing, here." She waves her hand through it.

"Get a mirror, I wanna see."

She hops down off the perch and scampers into their bathroom, coming back with a hand mirror and a lamp she's turned to the lowest glow it'll do. She has to go the long way through the jungle gym to get to the top bunk with her hands full, but then it's easier to drop into the bed next to Samira and pass her the mirror while Layla holds the lamp between them.

"Huh."

"Mom's glows. Wonder why mine doesn't..." She frowns in concentration for a moment, and the mark brightens to cast more light than the lamp. "Ah! Um..." She wrinkles her brow and a moment later the circular sign vanishes entirely.

Giggle (and blink to get her night vision back). "Probably 'cause you're sneaky. Mom's super not sneaky."

"Yeah." Giggle. "She's shiny."

"Bet my mark's gonna be the shiniest."

"You are very shiny."

Lean. "I'm bold."

"Forthright."

"I know what I want."

"And you're willing to go after it."

"Yeah."

"Don't like that it got you in trouble this time, though."

"...Sometimes that happens."

"Yeah. Doesn't mean I can't try to avoid it."

"I don't blame you. For what happened."

She throws an arm around Samira's shoulder. "You're a good sister. But we're a team, and if my ideas are bad, they need to get less bad, so the team's better."

Lean. "Yeah. We'll be the best team."

Nod!

...And yawn.

She's been staying up, waiting for Samira to return. It's catching up to her a little.

"Time for bed?"

"I guess."

She doesn't really want to go back to her own bunk, though. "I wanna stay up here, though."

"There's room."

Grin! She sets the lamp on a ledge a bit above their heads and turns it off, before laying down.

Snuggle time!

Makes the day feel better.

Yeah! And makes getting up in the morning to face the lecture they're definitely gonna get less of a pain.

It's still a pain, though.

Yeah, well, some things you just gotta do.

Uh huh.

"You got lectured already, so, I can do most of this one..." she says.

"Thanks, sis."

"Anytime." Shoulder bump. Then: to breakfast!

Breakfast.

Elathea will give them until after they've eaten before requesting the attention of both girls.

She gives it, hands folded down on her lap.

"We need to talk about last night, as I'm sure the both of you are well aware. Though thankfully no one was hurt, things could easily have gone very, very wrong. The warnings we give you as your parents are not because we like to hear ourselves speak, we are trying to protect you using the wisdom of our experience."

...Sulk.

"Samira. You know the wyld is dangerous. Why did you go?"

"...To help Layla."

"Layla. Why did you send your sister?"

"She gets to do stuff I don't. And I liked hearing about all her stories, but the wyld sounds scary, and I don't think I'd be good at it. But I really, really wanna go to the moon, and Samira could get there okay, we thought, and then she could steal something that'd let me go safely."

"Why did you not talk to us before doing this?"

"'Cause Samira asked mama, and mama said she thinks we're not ready. But mama's always super cautious."

"Mama is trying to protect you. You know this, yes?"

"Yeah. But sometimes she tries too hard."

"She judged the danger correctly in this case, did she not?"

"...I guess."

"Your sister looks to you for direction. It is your responsibility to guide her well. You need to think before sending her out, about dangers, about consequences, about what tools or resources you have to help her. To know what you're getting her into."

"She came back this time. But you will not always be so lucky."

"...I know."

"I'm saying this because you need to hear it, not to make you feel bad. We love you, and we don't want you to make a mistake you'll regret."

Her face scrunches up. "I know."

"All right. Now, your mama and I thing it best if you spend some time with her, learning the sort of things Samira's been."

Slow nod. "Where will Samira be?"

"Samira will be with me for a little while."

She glances at her twin. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah."

"'Kay." To her mom: "I'm gonna still get to learn sorcery though, right?"

"We'll see about continuing those lessons afterwards."

Pout. "That's not fair."

"Here is another type of lesson, then: few things in life are fair and sometimes, the unfairness is a consequence of your own actions."

Hrmph. "I guess."

"Believe it, young lady."

Siiiiigh.

Elathea claps her hands together.

"That's all the serious business for now, though. The two of you are released."

Nod.

Hugs?

Hugs.

Hugs!

"I'm sorry I almost got Samira hurt."

Pet. "Fortunately, you have a chance to learn, now," she says, gently. "Just like tumbling off a branch."

Smile. "Don't do that much anymore."

Poke. "You took a tumble two days ago, love."

"A graceful descent."

"Onto your butt."

"I'm pretty sure you hadn't meant to do it before you started falling."

"I did once I started! I would've fallen on my face if I kept going all the way." She pauses, then - "Like I used to..."

She scrunches up her face. Then, to her parents, slowly: "So... Being smart about what I tell Samira to do is like that? Like - learning how to fall less, but also how to not get hurt when I do?"

"A bit like that, yes."

"...'Kay."

"I'll work hard on it."

"I'm sure you will."

"I'm a fast learner."

"Yeah, you are."

"We both are."

Hee!

With breakfast and lecture over, the twins can head out to run around for a bit.

Yeah. Getting lectured was... Okay, she learned some stuff, but it wasn't fun, and chasing her sister around is.

Can her sister run and jump any better?

Turns out... yeah. She can.

"Cool!" Layla giggles. "I'm going to have to figure out some way to beat you in races now...:

"Find new ways to cheat?"

"It's only cheating if there's formal rules you get caught breaking."

"So you're saying I should make some rules."

"Well, the point of rules is to make things equal..."

"If you say so."

"So they'd have to give us an equal chance to win."

"Maybe I just have to go farther than you."

"Or accept a handicap."

"Maybe."

"We might have to test out which rules work best."

"Do experiments."

"Yeah!" She flops on her back. "Though I'd rather get my Exaltation sooner... You and Micqui already got yours. But our parents would be super mad I bet if I went out looking for a chance."

"Yeah. Plus I don't think you can get exalted on purpose."

Huff. "Maybe one of our parents would know..."

"Or Micqui."

"Oh, and she might be more likely to tell us, too..."

Nod nod.

"Wanna go find her now?"

"Sure." Samira is always up for finding Micqui.

"Hey squirts," she says when they find her. "Heard you had an adventure."

"That's one word for it."

Hug?

Micqui hug!

She pats her sister's back. "You came out okay, though?"

"Seems like it. Survived the lectures, anyway."

"So you two already know what you did wrong?"

Shrug.

"I told Samira to go somewhere dangerous without thinking it through."

She pulls Layla into the hug, too. "You didn't ask for help," she corrects, "And no one went with Samira."

"Thought I could do it without help."

"We're sisters. That means none of us go alone."

"I'll remember that."

Squeeze. "That goes for you, too, Layla. We're a team."

She nods. "Then it goes for you - no more running off without us for months and months. And we'll help with your stuff."

"It's a deal."

"A good deal."

"Yeah. Having you two watching my back sounds wonderful."

A smile, then - "We'll also be with you for learning your powers, Samira."

"I think mom's going to help with those too."

She ruffles Samira's hair. "Doesn't mean we can't. It'll give Layla a chance to practice being bossy, too."

She sticks her tongue out.

Samira giggles. "She doesn't need to practice."

"I'm a natural leader."

"Natural bossypants."

"And you like being told what to do."

"I'm good at making things happen."

"Then I'm good at deciding what needs to happen."

"Sure."

"Good to know you agree with me."

Shoulder bump.

Laugh and shoulder bump back.

"So what are we doing now, leaderpants?"

"Let's go see what you can do."

"Okay!"

Micqui's happy to help, too - and she has some ideas for fun things to test...

(Samira is maybe showing off a little.)

She has every right to. 

Does Samira want to try fighting another Exalt, now? 

As long as that Exalt is Micqui.

That was her plan. 

Then let's go.

Micqui is hardly a combat specialist, nor as experienced as their parents - but she's been going at this longer than Samira, which gives her an edge.

She puts up a better fight than she would have yesterday-

-but yeah. This one's Micqui's to win.

She's gracious in her victory, helping Samira back up. "Good fight."

"You too."

"You're still stronger than me."

"You're new. That might change in time, at least in a straight fight."

"I'll work hard."

"I know you will."

Smile!

Layla is pouting, a little. She's... Not sure why, but there's something heavy and unpleasant in her gut when she looks at her sisters right now.

Hm? "Something wrong?"

"...No."

Pout.

"Doesn't look like no."

"I dunno, okay?"

"Okay."

She huffs and looks away, crossing her arms over her chest.

Something seems wrong... but she's not sure what or how to fix it.

...Micqui isn't entirely sure either, but - "I'm sorry if we made you feel left out."

Yeah that's struck a chord. Her face scrunches up a bit.

Hug?

Hug.

"Sorry," she says softly.

"'s'okay. You're not doing it on purpose..."

"Don't wanna do it at all."

"You're still my favorite twin."

Small giggle. "You don't have any other twins, silly."

"Would you rather be my least favorite twin?"

Nudge. "So long as you remember that I'm the best twin you could ever have."

"Absolutely."

Laugh.

"Now... Let's get working on beating up Micqui someday."

Grin. "Together!"

"Together."

Now that she's been pulled out of her funk, Layla's got ideas for that...

Samira is super ready to implement those ideas.

Best sister team.

All around.

Micqui helps - though she focuses on implementing and gently improving Layla's ideas, being careful not to upstage her younger sister. 

Fun for all the sisters, until their parents call them back in.

After a few weeks, during the dark moon - one night when they're out playing late, so Samira can practice being sneaky - 

There's a strange woman in their garden. Samira's seen her before, of course, but - doesn't make her any less odd. She's watching them. 

She taps Layla on the shoulder to alert her to the visitor.

"It's Lady Luna," she whispers.

She freezes a bit, eyes going wide.

"Hello?" she calls.

"Hello."

"Should we get mama for you...?"

"No need. I'd wanted to talk to the two of you, actually."

"Oh."

"What about?"

"Nothing very specific - I want to get to know you two."

"Okay. Ummm..." She looks to Layla for guidance.

"...Why us?"

"I'm good friends with your parents. I like seeing them, from time to time, and I like being involved in things that're important to them. And - you two have behaved interestingly."

"Is that good?"

"Mostly."

"You're not gonna lecture us too?"

"No. I figure you've had enough of that."

Sigh. "Yeah..."

Nod. "We're going to do better, though."

"Always improving."

"Trying to. Together."

She smiles at her sister and takes her hand, squeezing it.

Luna pulls them into more of a relaxed conversation after that - and she readily lets Layla dominate, allowing Samira to fall into the background when she wants. 

Samira's met Luna once, and Layla's good at talking. She answers questions when asked and tries to contribute where she can but doesn't steer the conversation.

Luna bids them a good night after a little bit, explaining she needs to be in the Silver Chair soon. (And not mentioning that Layla is clearly getting tired.)

"Bye."

"Bye."

"Thanks for talking to us."

"It was my pleasure."

And she leaves. 

Micqui ends up taking over a lot more of - everything, over the next few years.

Their mothers increasingly aren't around, really, emotionally or sometimes even physically. Gleam's trying, but... Micqui can tell mama's stressed and having trouble.

Elathea is...

Micqui starts mourning the idea of the twins ever knowing the same mom she did within a few months of Samira Exalting. Mom might as well be on the other side of Creation, and Micqui struggles to handle training Samira herself without alienating Layla.

They manage. Micqui's sixteen, now. Past the age of responsibility, not quite at the age to found her own household - but she's been old enough to help out for a while, and plenty of people outside of the upper echelons of the Deliberative are parents at her age, and they have an entire massive estate full of potential helpers. (An estate Micqui increasingly starts running - mama's always been bad at this part, and mom's now just... Not participating at all.)

(At least the oldest retainers are too well trained to look at her with pity. And they could keep the estate going even if the entire family vanished, so... It's not too hard.)

(And as their mothers' fuses grow shorter - well. Micqui's a practical girl. The loyalty of servants can mean a lot.)

(And of course, it's only a matter of time before - before that means something.)

(Micqui doesn't even wait for the fight to start. She sees Gleam stalking off toward Elathea's workshop, buzzing with anger, and she begins to act. Her sisters - there's secret paths through existence, ones she was warned to never tell non-Sidereals about, but she doesn't fucking care and shoving two thirteen year olds through a door isn't really telling, anyways. She prays to Luna. Everyone else - she warns them, gets people clear, and then puts her own body between her mothers and the estate.)

(Luna's always going to be Micqui's favorite god, she decides, as the deity pulls through - stops the fight cold - and saves them.)

(Her mothers are... Sorry, they say. There's something different, something changed - Micqui almost dares to hope, lets the servants know the coast is clear, sets the senior retainers to straightening things out - )

Something is wrong with Exaltations.

Micqui takes the news in stride. Starts further contingency measures - realizes with a sinking feeling her Exaltation might be 'wrong' too - starts trying to figure out what the best way to put contingency decisions in Layla's hands will be.

Her mothers don't even try to attend to the household in the aftermath. Micqui handles that, too. (She wouldn't want to hand over this influence even if her mothers tried to get it back, she thinks. It's too useful.)

(Luna's initial tests of their family's Exaltations are... Stressful. Micqui doesn't like the changes in Samira, ones she'd been blind to before now - doesn't like the expressions on her little sisters' faces as Luna tests Micqui's own Exaltation.)

It's late when they finish, and Layla at least is practically vibrating with worry - almost by rote, Micqui rises to shepherd them out, saying -

"I think it's getting pretty close to bedtime, girls."

"Kay. Good night," she says to her mothers.

"Goodnight, dear."

"Sleep well."

"Night."

And off to the twins' room - where Layla dramatically flops on her bed instead of starting getting ready for sleep.

"You're upset," Samira observes.

"Yeah."

"Mostly worried." She stares at the underside of Samira's bunk.

"...And angry."

Samira crawls into Layla's bed to flop next to her.

She rolls into her sister, snuggling, then glances at Micqui.

Who comes to curl into Layla's back, arm over both her sisters.

"I am too," she says, softly. 

"This is all..." Vague gesture. "...A lot."

Solemn nod. "It is, and it's terrifying, and it makes me want to find whoever's responsible and hurt them." Her voice stays astoundingly even.

She gently pats Micqui's arm.

She curls her arm a bit tighter. "I want to protect you," she says, voice nearly a whisper.

"You need to be safe, too."

"I want all of us to be safe. A team. But - you're my little sisters. I - don't want you to have to grow up before you're ready."

"We're ready."

"Especially since we've got you."

Soft smile, as she strokes Samira's hair and kisses Layla's head. "Thank you."

"We'll do this together, then?"

"Just like always."

Good.

Hug, and - she'd like to sleep here tonight, if the twins don't mind.

(They can discuss contingency measures in the morning.)

That's fine with Samira.

Layla too.

Good.

(She brings them into her contingency measures, after. It's tough to talk about, to acknowledge out loud - but important, and this way she can tie Layla into the decision-making process early. She makes sure they don't withdraw on their end from their parents - feels so, so grateful when Elathea never slips, but so, so frustrated that no one seems to be making progress - mama has stopped using Essence entirely, and mom's just invented pain killers for her that only mostly work - )

(Micqui prepares the girls to work with her. She's going to need to actually create a proper network, she realizes, one that extends outside of their household, so - the girls need to be ready for that. Need to be brought out of their shelter.)

It's good, though, for the most part. Happier. They have their mothers back, parents who love them, who are amazing, delightful, inspiring people. Who're available, and who let the girls sit in on their projects whenever they want. Who explain themselves, and who rarely get angry, and who handle it well when they do. All three's education jumps forward in leaps and bounds after - Micqui realizes exactly how much she'd been drowning without this help - and it eases something Micqui hadn't realized was wrong.

She doesn't feel like the twins' too-young parent, not anymore. It lets her feel closer to them. Rely on them, and love them as the equals they are. It's nice.

(They have frequent contact with the Second Most High over the next few years, and Micqui seizes advantage of that for later connections - though it has plenty of current benefits, too. Luna's a good friend. Micqui brings the twins to the Silver Chair after some discussion and preparation, to sharpen her tongue politicking with Luna's court, to dance at miraculous balls. She so, so loves dancing with her sisters, she finds. Loves leading Samira across the dance floor in complicated waltzes, loves tangoing with Layla. Loves working together in politics - loves the surreal nature of politics here. It helps push back against her brain's near obsessive urge to find and exploit and enforce patterns. Helps her develop good habits.)

She likes family time. Their at-least-weekly craft nights are a lot of fun, and a good chance to get herself to expand her skills in an area she'd otherwise neglect. And while crafting isn't centrally her thing... It's interesting seeing what their mothers are working on.

It's a couple years later that at one of those family craft nights, Elathea is working on a piece of jewelry their mama hasn't worn in while. Two tigers with tail entwined arcing towards each other to form a loop, a sun caught in between them.

Mama had worn that necklace Layla's whole life, and then - had that fight with mom, and suddenly stopped.

Layla's been curious, to say the least.

"Is that mama's old necklace?" she starts.

"Yes, it is. We think it's time to see if this is back in fashion."

"Why'd she stop wearing it?"

"The same reason she started wearing it. It's a little bit dangerous."

"...Mom. I'm sixteen. You can give me the actual explanation."

(Soft giggle.)

Well, since she asks.

"This collar was part of our sex life until I almost killed her with it."

(Even more giggles.)

Her brain rapidly flips through several responses before settling on - "So it's a masochism artifact? - Are you changing it so it's less actually dangerous? How's it work?"

If she focuses on science she can't blush.

"That is indeed what I'm doing." She beckons Layla over. "I'll show you, here."

She comes over to squint at it.

Elathea gives a very technical explanation that somehow manages to also include a number of explicit ancedotes about times the collar has been used delivered with a completely straight face.

Oh gods Samira did not want to know this much about her mothers' past.

Giggle.

"Mom, you're embarrassing Samira." She gives her twin a considering look. "But it just does painful stuff? Could you do a different design to, let's say, painlessly control someone?"

She's still watching Samira's face.

Samira's face undergoes an interesting series of contortions!

"That would be a difficult thing to manage, requiring much more subtlety."

"I'm a very subtle person," she assures her mom, like this isn't a bald faced lie.

"Of course you are, dear." She pats Layla on the head.

She sticks her tongue out.

Micqui had also wanted to know none of that about her parents' sex life - but Samira's face makes up for it, almost. "But if your target was eager to obey... Would something that just gives them nudges be easier?"

"That depends how one goes about it. Some manner of positive reinforcement based on a given trigger, for example, would be relatively straightforward."

"Nice feelings if they're good, a little shock if they're bad?"

"Or could you weave in something communicative, so they always know your will?"

Squirmy Samira!

"You two... If you want to sexually harass your sister, please do so in private."

At least someone's on her side here.

"Thanks, mama."

"You're welcome, dear."

All that said... Samira is still pretty interested in the collar. She goes over next to Layla to look at it more closely.

"It's pretty."

"When it comes to your mama, the shinyness of the object is always an important consideration."

"It matches my scintillating personality."

"Quite."

She leans over to give her wife a kiss. 

Then: "Would you like more pretty jewelry of your own, Samira?"

She chews her lower lip.

"Maybe..."

"It doesn't have to be the exact same sort of pretty as this..." Then, with a soppy smile at her wife - "But I'll tell you a secret... All my favorite pieces are things people I love earnestly gifted me. Prettiness is just a nice bonus."

She raises her left hand a little bit, drawing attention to the bracelet there - Layla's first solo project, a knitted wire chain, which is very clearly a young girl's first work. (Gleam wears it all the time, and has for years.)

Giggle.

Layla blushes. (At least her mama let Layla replace the 'jewelry' Layla made at four and stopped wearing it to formal dinners... But Layla's made no progress on replacing that particular bracelet in her mama's wardrobe. Mama just says she's too proud.)

"I can do much better, now."

"It seems your sister is ready to offer you a fine chance to prove it."

Giggle. "Yeah." She should be saying something cool and not just blushing, but - "I'd love to."

Yay!

"I'd love to provide you with a gift, too..." Micqui murmurs, reaching over to brush some of Samira's hair behind her ear. "Though artifacts aren't my forte."

Blush!

"Um, I'm sure you can think of something..."

"We can coordinate," Layla suggests.

"I could make something matching," Micqui says with a nod, "And consult on what features Layla includes."

"Sounds like a good project for you."

"It does. And you deserve wonderful things."

Shy smile.

"Especially that'll highlight how pretty you are."

"Surely that should be almost anything."

"Well, I bet there's an extra art to making someone as pretty as Samira even prettier."

"There's an art to everything, if you're willing to take it seriously."

"I take Samira very seriously."

"As well you should."

Bright grin.

And then her gaze drifts back to her twin and her smile softens.

She - should ask lots more questions about collar construction, but she's burning to talk to her sisters now.

Nothing's keeping her here except herself.

Yeah.

"Can I come ask questions later, mom?" she asks. "I wanna talk to Samira and Micqui a bit."

"Of course, dear."

"Thanks."

And - to one of the more private side rooms for her and her sisters?

Micqui's fine with that.

Sure.

Samira should sit between her sisters. Layla's - unsure, here, which means it's time to barrel through.

"I want to put a collar on you," she says, somewhere between rough and awkward.

"O-oh. Um..."

She cups Samira's cheek, gentle. "I think what Layla meant to say is... We like you, a lot, and not all the ways we like you are standard for sisters."

"And some of those ways... You're very competent, and very good, and we like it when you do things for us." Small smile. "And we're both control freaks, and we're showy control freaks."

"I like you both too. Um. A lot. If you wanted to- give me something that told people that-"

"I'd like it."

She laughs and hugs her twin. "Good."

"Sorry I can be a pushy dork, but - you're excellent, and I want to have you in every way you're okay with."

Hug!

"All the ways Micqui doesn't take first."

She makes a face, withdrawing a little.

Micqui sighs - and reaches out to curl her hand around Layla's neck. "I'd like to share all those ways," she says, firmly. "I like you too, Layla."

Uncomfortable glance away.

"...Only if Samira's okay with being shared."

"You're both my sister. I don't want to give either of you up."

"And you're my sister, and I love you, and - I'd feel really bad if there was stuff Micqui got first dibs on - but I don't want you to do stuff you don't want to do with me."

Snuggle.

Snuggle. "But I like you both, too, just... In different ways, and - I guess it's harder to put in my head how I like Micqui, so I haven't been thinking about it?" She glances at Micqui and blushes.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"Yeah."

"I want to kiss both of you."

"Good, because I want to kiss both of you, too."

"-We only have one mouth apiece," Samira says. "How's that going to work?"

Giggle. "We take turns, or the two of us could kiss different parts of your body at the same time..." And, smirking: "But I really want to watch you two kiss, right now."

Lip bite, glance to Layla.

Very interested noise.

She takes over cupping Samira's face from Micqui, and kisses her twin's cheek. "Let's give Micqui a little show," she teases then.

"If you say so."

Firm grip on Samira's hair - and kiss.

Kiss!!

Very kiss. (Layla's never kissed anyone, but she's read about kissing - and this isn't much like that at all - )

She presses into her twin hungrily, pushing Samira back against Micqui - and a bit under Layla.

Micqui steadies them, hands on Samira's waist, as she makes an approving noise.

Samira is even less experienced with kissing than Layla. But being between Micqui and her twin is a very good place to be, in her opinion.

Layla does get tired eventually - and almost dizzy with how much she likes this, with how much she wants more. "You're beautiful," she says, kissing Samira's swollen lips again, "And I want to do so many things to you."

"Mmmm. Please- please do everything to me."

"Mmm, very good manners." Kiss!!!

And - she moves so she's straddling Samira better, and starts undoing Samira's shirt. (Without stopping kissing her too much, of course.)

Samira is getting even more excited, heartbeat speeding up, face flushing further.

Perfect.

Layla's brain nearly shorts out once she sees her twin with her shirt off, all mussed up - and then the hunger in her surges again, leaving her own pulse to race, her own skin to flush in much the same patterns as Samira's.

Micqui makes a soft noise.

"Can I see you, too, Layla?" she murmurs.

Squirm! "Yeah," she says, breathless. Then, impulsively: "Keep Samira entertained?"

And - her own dress, belt first, but her fingers are shaking...

She doesn't need to be asked twice. 

She claims her own kiss, pulling Samira into her even more.

Oh, that's really really good.

She pulls back much too soon, instead pulling Layla into an equally hungry kiss - giving Samira quite a good view, especially of Layla's bare skin.

Whine!!

Giggle!!!

She separates from Micqui a bit, levers herself off Samira, and moves to press along their older sister's other side. "Sit up and give Micqui a kiss," she orders her twin.

She obeys with alacrity.

Oh, having two eager identical twins in her lap is very nice. Micqui kisses Samira back - kisses Layla - and gets quite handsy with them both. 

Squirmy!

"May I touch you please?"

"Yes you may, good girl."

(Layla doesn't wait for her to finish giving permission.)

Her hands are on Micqui's body and it feels good!

Teaming up on Micqui with her twin feels very nice.

Layla doesn't exactly have a more than theoretical knowledge of what she's doing, but she's got enthusiasm and the same basic body plan, so. She'll figure it out (and then tell Samira what to do).

(Bossing Samira around about how to please Micqui: also very nice.)

Samira is very willing to be instructed.

She's in turn very appreciative of their efforts, praising them both when they do well, rewarding them with kisses and firm touches... And, once she's satisfied, ordering Samira to serve Layla now.

With pleasure.

Layla's pleasure. (Samira is so good and Layla loves her and Samira's doing a very good job, and Layla is quite vocal with all of these opinions.)

Samira is just in a floaty haze of happy to be told to be doing all these wonderful things at this point.

Which means cuddles and kisses once Layla's moved into her own languid haze.

Mmmmm.

Cuddles with her favorite girls: definitely one of the best activities ever.

It absolutely is.

And it gives Layla an energy once her body's recovered a bit.

Specifically, an energy to make Samira the best collar ever. She'll need to bind it so both she and Micqui can activate it but no one else can, which is complicated since the best artifacts only want to be bound to one person... Maybe a multi-artifact relay - the collar attuned to Samira, and then a bracelet attuned to each of Layla and Micqui, which can all communicate with each other...

(She has some very depressing conversations with her mom about safeties, and - yeah. The collar should be Samira's and not something either sister could use as a weapon.)

The final product isn't much like their mama's collar at all, in design or function. It lets them send mental concepts to each other, lets them monitor each other's locations, moods, and bodies, assists in some ways of using Essence on each other... And has a mode they can activate to partially suppress their own will in favor of the others' wills, which is self-limiting and which took her forever.

And - Layla thinks it's prettier than mama's collar. It's simple in form, a perfect golden circle that will lock seamlessly once on. No frills, no distracting shinies. All three have fine golden chains connected on opposite points - Samira's could be arranged to cascade down her front, or could be held as a leash. (They're deceptively strong; even a Solar would have trouble breaking them - but Samira can command them to burn anyone who isn't attuned to the paired bracelets, if they dare grab what belongs to her sisters.) Layla's and Micqui's chains are a bit more decorative, though she plays with them until they can be connected to the collar's chains, in case they ever want to hold Samira while keeping their hands a bit free.

(She makes sure not to get consumed while she's making it, even if it's exciting. She doesn't want to go down that path. This slows down production, of course, and means she does almost all of her work on it while hanging out with others - which obviates the surprise, but, then, having Samira watch the collar's construction is fun.)

She finishes, eventually, and presents all three pieces of jewelry to her sisters with a nervous thrill.

"They all look so pretty."

"Absolutely gorgeous."

Blush!

"They'll look prettier on your bodies," she teases. "So Samira - put Micqui's bracelet on her, then mine on me."

"Yes ma'am."

Samira takes the bracelets and reverently slips them onto each sister's wrist.

"Amazing," she murmurs, running her thumb over her own bracelet. She then locks gazes with Layla, smirks - 

And then Samira's sisters pick up her collar together, working alongside each other to lock it around her neck.

It fits on very nicely.

And the resonance is perfect.

Layla's will enchoes into Samira's mind - kneel.

Her knees fold.

And Micqui takes her leash.

"Wonderful work, Layla," she murmurs, brushing her hand over Samira's hair. "It compliments her beauty very well."

She giggles and kisses Micqui. "It does. Of course, now we'll have to select outfits for her that show it off..."

"No hardship at all."

"Whatever is pleasing to my mistresses," Samira says from her kneeling position.

"Good girl." Hair pet!

She leans into the pet.

Happy grin.

"Speaking of service..." She joins in the petting. "A new court season is happening soon, among the Sidereals. I want you two to accompany me."

"To Yu-Shan?"

"Yes. I think you're ready."

"You need new arm candy for your triumphant return?"