I will never take electricity for granted ever again!
The topic had turned, no matter how briefly, to family, and Shandom was forced to again realize Caprica’s striking resemblance to Lea. It was painful each time he noticed, a bitter knife through his fragile heart. He could not blame the woman before him – it was far from her fault – but he could not help imagine her with topaz eyes, a stronger jaw, a splotch of white on her chest that vaguely resembled a crooked rose… If he shut his eyes for a moment, Shandom could allow himself a brief second of happiness and illusion. It was wonderful, but all too quick. His mind refused to allow the delusion.
Envy consumed his heart as she rattled off the siblings she had in Anathema, as well as a mother. A mother! The notion was foreign to Shandom. He remembered Xydia with fondness, but he had been a child when she was taken. The few, fuzzy memories he had of her were of a beautiful, delicate wolf with fine, regal features. She’d been in possession of a lovely and rare magnetic smile; it drew people to her, and made her a much loved Alphess. Warmth spread through him as he recalled the pleasant memory. It was, of course, rapidly replaced when his thoughts inevitably shifted to Kora. The look of mingled grief, terror, betrayal, and dignified acceptance that was her last expression lived in the screenplay of his mind. Shandom wished with all his being he could forget it.
With a chocked laugh and a slightly embarrassed expression, the male realized he’d been silent for longer than was socially acceptable. ”Your family sounds wonderful. It is so incredible to be surrounded by those whom you love and treasure. Truly, it is the greatest happiness.” He was concerned this woman might find him odd, but he could not halt that words that jumped to his lips, unbidden and free. Besides the uncanny resemblance to Linquilea, this woman put him at remarkable ease. Shandom did not feel the same way he would normally feel if a stranger asked him how he got here, or why.
“I wasn’t – I’m not,” he murmured in response to her question. “Had everything been sane and normal, had the world been a fair and just place where things happen the way they ought, I would have my full sight and live in and lead the lands of my ancestors. Instead, I allowed my jealousy to impede my – normally! – excellent judgment, and through that I lost my beloved family and the one wolf I treasure above all else – my sister, Linquilea. She is the wolf you resemble, by the way,” Shandom finished softly. His face was rather vacant, but his eyes were wistful and far away, until he rapidly brightened. Tone more upbeat, he asked “So, are more wolves around here ‘born and bred shifters’? I can’t imagine that! My homeland – Etienne, it is called – didn’t have any. If I am being honest, I have never even heard of wolves that can do that. I suppose that goes to show I have not been particularly gregarious since I arrived here.” He gave her an easy and relaxed smile that did not adequately reach his eyes. They were still sad and distant, seeped in memory of those he’d lost.
