The Terrible Twos Of Twins (Anna)

Prompt: The terrible twos of twins

“Did I ever tell you what the rest of the circle were like when they were younger?” Tilma asks me one day as she sweeps the stone patio in the courtyard. No, as a matter of fact, she hasn’t. That question has piqued my interest, as well. “No, you haven’t. What were they like?” I ask, as while I can make some assumptions, having confirmation about them is always rewarding. “Well, for starters, Skjor was much less grumpy when he was young. Getting old has made him grouchy, that and the cold.” The old maid begins, setting the broom aside. “And the twins, oh the twins!” she exclaims sitting down across from me “those two were the reason the expression ‘terrible twos’ exist! Add in Aela to the mix, even though she was more supervised, and it was chaos!” I can see that being the case, knowing the three of them now. “Imagine trying to raise a hyper-verbal child with no social skills that likes to wander off, and a nearly nonverbal up until the age of 8 years old child that would socialize with anyone and everyone regardless of that fact…” she pauses for a moment before adding “and remember they’re identical twins.” I can see how that would be a challenge. My parents are probably glad right now I’m an only child, poor Tilma had to wrangle three feral children all of which would be trained to use a variety of weapons. Tough times, those probably were, tough times indeed. “How did you tell the twins apart when they were little, aside from who spoke more?” I ask the old woman and her answer is one I’ve heard before “different color shoes.” she tells me, though she also adds the fact that the two of them figured this out, and would occasionally switch. This, of course, was still when they had more or less the same haircut and were dressed similarly otherwise, as one frequently does with toddlers. Along with that fact I learn some more about the twins and their terrible twos that involve teething, nearly lost stuffed animals, many a sensory meltdown, and the emergence of two distinct forms of communication disorders, among other interesting facts and fun stories. I thank Tilma for her time telling the stories, and the potential blackmail, before letting her go back to her cleaning. Now to find two not particularly sociable werewolves and inform them of what I know. Perhaps now I’ll finally get the money they said they’d pay me during our last bet.