Page 2 of Mated By Twilight

When Skara finished her tear-jerking speech, the audience showed their own appreciation by calling and stomping and cheering – however their individual species showed their approval to performers. The stage went dark. Sollit and Tillos straightened up as they took their place beside Skara, the other actors coming out to join them. They floated in the air, raising their hands, as the lights came back up and gave the audience a chance to cheer them on properly now that the show was over.

Sollit lived for moments like this. The cheers of the crowd. The satisfaction of a job well done, feeling the same through the bond he shared with his brother. It was a good day. No, it was a great day! It couldn’t get much better than this.

After soaking in the approval of the audience, the actors all dropped as the lights dimmed, floating down and leaving the stage through a dark tunnel that led to the bright, organized chaos that was the understage after a show. There were props, costumes, actors, stagehands all moving around, rushing about, talking and laughing loudly since the show was over and they didn’t need to remain silent anymore.

“Good show, Sollit,” Tillos said as the two of them walked through the crowd, heading to their dressing room. There was always a meet and greet with the audience after the show and they had to hurry and freshen themselves up. They would still wear their costumes, of course, but they needed to fix their makeup and fix their outfits. They were a fantasy, and they couldn’t look tired and exhausted or that would ruin the image they cultivated to the public.

“You as well,” Sollit smiled at his brother’s serious face. “I don’t think we messed up at all. Did we?”

“Skara missed her second to last mark, where she was meant to be kneeling, watching us fight, but it wasn’t by much. I doubt the audience even noticed.”

Sollit couldn’t help but laugh. “Ever the perfectionist. If they wouldn’t notice and it didn’t affect the show, then it was a perfect hit.”

“Ever the optimist,” Tillos returned with a grin of his own. “But you aren’t wrong. It was a great final show for The Gilded and Tarnished Love.”

“I want to do ahappyplay next time,” Sollit frowned, leading the way into their dressing room. It was exactly as they left it before taking the stage tonight – Sollit’s half messy and chaotic, Tillos’ side rigidly organized and neat.

They were twin avanava males. In some respects, they were the exact same person. Their hearts were bound in a bond as tight as matehood. To the Coalition, they were considered a singular individual – just one spread between two bodies. The fact that they shared one soul and, often, spoke with one voice, meant that they might as well be the same person.

Even on their home planet, Yeluka Akuley, they were, at once, considered different people and one person at the same time. But there were still differences between them. Tillos was exacting in all things. Sollit was enthusiastic in all things. He would clean his mess later, because he didn’t actually want things to be disorganized, it just became that way as he got ready. But even after he cleaned, it would never be as neat and precise as Tillos.

Sollit wasn’t sure how to describe it to others. Sharing his heart, his soul, with his brother was so natural, it seemed stranger to him to think about not having another person sharing his emotions. He was aware of his own pride and joy at their performance, but he was also aware of Tillos’. His brother’s feelings fed into him, just as his fed back. They were enhanced by each other. Sollit felt Tillos’ emotions, but he was also aware that they weren’t his own, even as he experienced them as if they were.

“Gifts arrived,” his brother pointed out as they walked in, indicating to the table along the back wall – the only thing in the room that there was only one of, though it’s position still meant the room was a perfect mirror of itself. Sollit and Tillos might have left home, but they still enjoyed the symmetry of the architecture and design from Yeluka Akuley.

Covering the table were all the fan gifts. They were gathered before the show so that the fans didn’t have to hold them whilewatching, and then brought to the dressing room while they performed. There were boxes, treats, flowers, pictures, holos – all sorts of things.

“And there are Biella’s,” Sollit chuckled, crossing over to grab them. It was always nice when their fans appreciated their culture enough to remember that avanava males used two of everything – except a female, of course. In this case, however, it wasn’t consideration so much as the female that gifted them knowing better. Their biggest fan was an avanava female, so naturally, she would be aware that they needed two, identical presents.

“Succar beetles,” Tillos said, having taken the top off the box. “Haven’t had these in a long time.”

“It will be good to have a taste of home,” Sollit agreed, chuckling, setting them aside.

The two of them worked quickly to at least put eyes on everything on the table. It wasn’t necessary, but they found that their fans were more appreciative when they could remember the presents they’d been given, even if they hadn’t had time to enjoy them yet.

After they finished, they sat down at their vanities and began working on fixing their hair and makeup to get them back to perfection. Tillos gave him a time warning for how long until they needed to get to the fan meetup. Sollit, meanwhile, checked their messages.

One from their parents, congratulating them on another great show. They weren’t there in person, of course, but they watched the streamed version back home. They never missed an opening or closing performance, no matter how many times they’d seen the show.

“Both of our fathers said the same thing I did about the stupidity of the brothers,” Sollit laughed, telling Tillos over his shoulder.

“There are a lot of species that are foolish about mating in pairs,” Tillos sighed, leaning back in his chair as he stared up at nothing. “It’s not that I don’t understand monogamy…”

“Right,” Sollit agreed without him needing to finish. They were, in a way, monogamous – if one agreed that Sollit and Tillos were the same person. Though, to their way of thinking, they were still sharing as two separate people. It was correct either way though.

The depth to which avanava males felt bonded to their twin varied. Sollit knew some that insisted they were the exact same person and even spoke in plural, the way rootavin females would once they had grouped up. There were also those that stated they were only bonded to their twin, but that they were certainly two completely separate people.

For Sollit and Tillos, they were somewhere in the middle – as most avanava males would be. Sollit was a full person on his own, but he just wasn’t complete without Tillos. They were two people that still only added up to one person.

Sollit couldn’t imagine mating without Tillos – and he knew the feeling was reciprocated. The fact that they shared their hearts meant that, when it came to affection and desire, what they felt was always magnified for being reflected in each other.

Which made everything better. Honestly. Sollit felt sorry for males that were alone their whole life without being able to appreciate the bond he shared with Tillos.

“Mother is congratulating us on the show,” he said, smiling as he read her well wishes.

“Our birthday is coming up,” Tillos responded thoughtfully. “We need to remember to get her something.”

“Already? I can’t keep up anymore since we switched to the Standard calendar,” Sollit laughed. “Let’s shop for that tomorrow.”

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