we built this city on broken glass

It was almost amusing, really, the manner in which Nadya seemed to brighten so suddenly at the sight of the children as he led them from the scrub brush. The woman seeming to find some level of strength all over again that even his own presence was incapable of exacting from her. That, he supposed, was the power of motherhood. He had seen it before and he held little doubt he would see it again before his time was up. Frost assuring his power remained fixated around his girlfriend to keep that warmth embracing her before easily leaning forward to steal that kiss from her lips. His own way, perhaps, of assuring himself she was entirely alright. The return of that kiss seeming to satisfy him before those protests from Isabella saw that kiss break. Frost glancing down to the child then. The pair of them, it seemed, finally old enough to at least understand that gesture and find it thoroughly unappealing. Perhaps he would remind them of this one day when they were teenagers and had taken to enjoying the same thing with their boyfriend or girlfriend. The little girls insistence of 'no more' was met with a small simper, Frost ignoring her orders to steal a final kiss from Nadya before reluctantly relinquishing her. The stallion not nearly so taken aback by the child's apparent belief he was her father. After all- he heard it in their minds often. They were of an age when understanding that family unit had become important and it was not his place, per say, to instruct them on this. Besides, he had never yet discussed with Nadya just how she might want her brother and Tobias referred to by the children. Frost content to remain silent on the matter until Nadya herself broached it. The equine hardly correcting the young girl now all the same as one hand reached out to lightly rest on her head in a gesture surprisingly....gentle for a man whom only moments ago had torn another to pieces.

"Alright."

He uttered softly before Micah saw fit to interrupt with those demands for a snack. Typical boy. Food, it seemed, taking over a large part of the boys thought process. Nadya content to try to hush him before turning back to Frost himself with that assurance she was fine- or would be after a rest and a meal. The stallion merely offering that simple nod of his head as his hand reached out to embrace her own in that silent request for his assistance.That walk back home was decidedly quiet. Frost keeping that power focused upon Nadya before turning his attention to the children to assure they were following. That 'herding' instinct, it seemed, decidedly strong in the equine when those children were about. The man determined to keep them together lest they have any further incidents. Frost led the way easily into the house then, that back door shut and locked behind them, the mess in the kitchen assuring him Malia had come and been leaving the disaster of her breakfast making efforts in her wake as he merely frowned somewhere beneath that mop of white hair.

The sound of the children heading upstairs saw his violet gaze shift briefly once more toward them while Nadya changed into that robe. The woman looking better already and yet that Were-healing could be a truly profound thing on occasion. Frost merely shifting to follow her into the kitchen as she readied that promised snack, Nadya mentioning those family names as he lent against the kitchen counter, arms folded across his chest in that usual fashion. Frost content to watch her even if he attempted to appear otherwise less she suddenly fall again. His lips quirking slightly in amusement as those smooth, cool lyrics fell from his lips.

"They are fortunate they do not have Icelandic last names. They are terrible to spell and they are not given in the same tradition as most of the world. Boys last names are taken from their fathers given name, girls are taken from their mothers. A Mother, Father and their two children might all have different last names."

Why he cared to share such information he hardly knew. Frost, perhaps, simply displaying that simple understanding that the world was hardly clear cut when it came to families. Whatever that preschool had taught them would merely be one way of looking at that very thing. The man assured Nadya and himself could teach them a veritable plethora of ways to understand that concept of family. Even if he himself was hardly an expert on the matter. His own family unit had never been a truly functional one. His gaze continued to follow the woman then as she ran that washcloth under the water before making her way towards him, the stallion frowning slightly as she made every effort to clean that blood away from his chest as her words continued. Frost merely....letting her go. A part of him still almost unsure how to respond to that...care she displayed. The stallion so un-used to that very thing. Her words becoming a near tirade before she abruptly stopped if only to stare at that thoroughly bloodied washcloth and the little progress she had made. Frost silently reaching up to grasp her hands in his own. His gaze meeting her own at last.

"It's alright, I can clean this up. You see to the food for the children. I fear though that I don't know what 'petri dish' means. That is one english word I never learned although I somehow doubt the children will understand it either."

It could hardly be a common word if he had not heard of it until now, the stallion understanding by that assurance alone that it was unlikely one the children had learned either and yet he offered little more on the notion of words. His attention instead remaining on Nadya as he gently took that washcloth from her, his features frowning slightly in that consideration.

"What you decide to tell the children is your decision alone and I won't tell them differently- but I see no reason to lie to them, nor to tell the whole truth just yet. They are too young. For now, why not just tell them they have a father and an uncle, tell them their names, but say it isn't safe to see them right now? As they got older you can tell them more, explain why, for now I think they are too young to even truly understand or be told those harsh truths. They are happy. There is plenty of time for disappointment in this world and yet they can never accuse you of lying to them either as they age."

He paused then. Frost having considered well just how....tense those discussions could become as the children aged. Especially if either grew to resent their Mother for telling them things they might one day be led to believe are untrue. This way, in the least, there was no real lie told, nor any truth hidden. It was merely...versions of the truth that would become more real as they aged and yet that choice was Nadya's alone. Frost slowly stepping away from her then to run that cloth back under the water and wash the blood from it. How many times had he seen that water so stained with red? Far to many he was sure. The equine beginning to wipe away that blood once more now as he turned to face her again.

"Did you still want to go riding tonight?"

FrosT