When Larotir and Captain Ceinule stepped in, all four occupants of the now quite crowded room froze. Ceinule and Tagri froze in bewilderment, but Larotir and Casan were in shock. They were looking at a perfect mirror of themselves, each with the exact same expression on his face. Larotir was the first one to break the silence. "Faranth," he murmurred before falling into a chair.
Ceinule leaned against the wall and Tagri put a hand on the maps table to steady himself. Casan shook himself out of his shock to regain control of the helm. Even the discovery of someone identical to him couldn't keep him from his work.
"Well, this is certainly... puzzling..." Ceinule said into the tense silence. "Anyone want to explain this to me?"
"You know as much as the rest of us do," Tagri shook his head in amazement. "Larotir?" he glanced at the young man who was seated, not sure what to believe anymore.
Larotir shook his head. "No idea. Is there something you haven't told me about how Mother adopted me?"
"My wife said something about a twin... Casan's twin... given to a Lady Holder..." Ceinule ventured. "But I didn't know if it was true..."
Casan struggled to keep control of the helm and control of his emotions. "Father, could someone else take the hold?" A cabin boy appeared out of nowhere and Ceinule told him to go find a journeywoman by the name of Ganis, which he did.
As soon as Ganis had arrived, the four very confused men left for Ceinule's quarters, the Captin's quarters being the largest and most private place in the ship. Laji rode on Casan's shoulder, tail curled protectively about his neck.
"So let me get this straight," Larotir said as soon as the door was closed. "I have a twin who I was separated from at birth during a storm. And I grew up not knowing this?"
Tagri nodded slowly. "It would seem that is what happened. Ceinule, did you ever tell Casan of this possibility?"
Ceinule shook his head. "My wife didn't know for sure, she just knew that there were two babes, she didn't know if they were twins, she just guessed that they were but everything was so crazy that night anything could have happened."
Casan shuddered. All the time he had been growing up, he'd had a twin. A person identical to himself growing up in an entirely different place. A glance at his brother's face told him that Larotir was thinking much the same thing. "So... what now?" Casan asked noone inparticular.
"Well, I don't know," Tagri admitted. "I guess you and Larotir had better spend some time... catching up. You've got eighteen turns between now and the time you two were last together."
Larotir and Casan locked eyes. What would they say to eachother? What was there to say? Except for the fact that they were obviously twins, they had nothing in common. They didn't even know who their birth-parents were. And they had grown up to be very different people. "I guess we do," Larotir said after a moment.
"Tagri and I were planning to meet anyway, so we'll go meet over something to eat in the galley," Ceinule said, standing up abruptly. "You two can stay here and talk." The Captain left and the Lord Holder followed him. The door creaked shut after them, lock clicking into place with a decisive click.
Another uncomfortable silence set in. Both twin avoided the other's eyes, not sure how to handle this.
"So," Larotir began.
"So," Casan replied.
At the same moment, the two brothers burst into laughter. Neither knew quite why, but it was very comforting to both Larotir and Casan to have a good laugh. When the last chuckle had subsided, both twins felt more relaxed, as if they hadn't been completely separated for eighteen turns.
"Well, I guess we ought to tell eachother about ourselves..." Casan suggested. "I just don't think I have a very intersting life."
"It has to be more intersting than mine," Larotir chuckled. "Mine's full of lectures and lessons. And I haven't Impressed a flit."
Laji chirped when Larotir allowed his gaze to stray to her. "Oh, I was just lucky. I got her egg in exchange for helping some sea-traders," Casan shrugged, amazed that his brother, who was next in line to be a Holder, envied him.
"Definetly a more intersting life," Larotir concluded. "Someday I hope to Impress a flit, but I doubt I'll get a flit egg in such an amazing way. Mine'll probably be given to me by some minor holder who wants to get on the good side of the future Holder.
When Larotir and Casan left for their own cabins, both felt they knew eachother as well as if they'd been together since the day they were born. Laji, who didn't like many humans, had even taken a liking to Larotir.
The next morning when they arrived in Green Waters Seahold...