The wizard's daughter loosened her posture as she stared into the dark backroom. "Please, come out here," she says, her eyes aglow.
At the sound of shuffling behind the wizard, the old gecko sighs, "Fine, do it."
A smaller gecko in a ragged brown dress scurries quickly next to, and hides behind, the wizard. "Nana Ling," she whispers, "Who is that?"
"Don't act like ya weren't listening," says the wizard Ling, her focus still on her own daughter.
Said daughter takes a few steps forward, around the fire, and leans down. "I'm Jevoi, your mother," she says, smiling for the first time in months. "What's your name?"
The little gecko leans out from behind Ling and looks at her nana. Upon seeing a faint nod, she says, "Dalini. My name's Dalini."
"Dalini," Jevoi repeats, "What a beautiful name: Princess Dalini." Dalini tilts her head in confusion. In response, Jevoi stands tall again. "That's right," she says, "I am the Dead Sun Empress, ruler of the Inner Dark." She pauses, looking over her little doppelganger. "And that makes you-"
Ling scoffs. "Still trying to rename Inner Glow?"
"It hasn't glowed in eight years, Mum," says Jevoi, her eyes darting to the wizard's bone-infused hat rim which masks her.
"And whose fault is that, Jevoi?" asks Ling, leaning back so that Jevoi could see her face again, the face they share.