A Meeting
Oneiriad
Disclaimer: Discworld belongs to the one and only Sir Terry Pratchett - mind you, I can at least claim Norse Myth as part of my cultural heritage :-)
A/N: order_of_chaos asked for Susan Sto Helit, Sleipnir. They should meet. Binky, too, if you wish.
Somewhere else, there's a woman, standing by a fold. She looks very - well, she looks very.
"But why aren't you at this family reunion?"
"Oh, but I don't mind filling in for Cousin Binky - someone has to, you know, and besides, I really don't mind. Your granddad hardly weighs anything - not half as much as Uncle Odin, anyway. It's practically like a vacation."
An unconvinced eyebrow is raised.
"I mean, it's not like those family reunions are really all that much fun, anyway - Bucephalus always eats all the best treats before anyone else can even get to the buffet, Pegasus has been insufferable ever since he helped slay that chimera creature, Unicorn spends the whole time bragging about having dipped his horn in this girl and that girl - and sooner or later the centaurs get drunk and we all know how that goes..."
The eyebrow stays raised.
"Look, it's just - well, Dad finally managed to convince Mom to come along this year, and it's just, look, I don't think Mom's ever really forgiven him for that whole 'catching him' business, and, well, I just thought it'd be best if I wasn't there to remind him. You know?"
Seeing an eight-legged horse shrug awkwardly is a rather unusual sight, even for this place.
The woman frowns as the horse retreats to the other side of the fold, nipping idly at black grass. Then she sighs, shaking her head and resuming her interrupted walk towards the house. Later, she tells herself, later.
It's not like this is the first time she feels the need to have a chat with a child's parents. It's just that she always wishes that she didn't have to.