Nana stood by her latest lover's grave.  It had been 20 years since she last visited here.  For this one, she had been mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.  All of their children were doing well, but no matter how it goes, it always ends the same.  They leave the nest and you can't see them all anymore.  Not at the same time anyway.  After awhile, it is better to cross over, and then in doing so, you join them all.

"Good by my love.  I will see you again, soon."

Nana's wrinkled human form began to disappear.  Like dust in the wind, molecule by molecule disintegrated, turning into a beam of light.  Eventually, she disappeared.  Nana was light once again, in the Sky Dome. 

"You have tarried there much longer, this time," said Anyanwu.  Anyanwu, the leader and teacher of them all.

"He was a very good one," said Nana.

"You have trained him well."

"His mother did first."

"Have you ever thought of making a husband one of us?" asked Magec, joining them.

"No, I haven't," said Nana. 

"But humanity is such a fleeting thing," continued Magec.  Magec, of the wisest three.  While Anyanwu and Nana were the mother and father figure of their unique family, Magec was like the innocent baby.  Fragile, vulnerable, but innocent and wise as innocence could be. 

"Exactly the reason why they should be appreciated," said Nana.  "We are all here only for a moment.  We best love one another while we still can."

"Though we were given the gift to tarry a little longer," said Anyanwu.

"I wonder why sometimes," said Magec.

"Can you really ask that and look at all the special people you have taken under your wing?"

"You mean people like me?" asked Magec.   In human form, Magec was born in a male's body, but he was most comfortable taking a more feminine form.  Even after all the time spent in the Sky Dome, not much has changed.

"Those people you are speaking of, were searching for a place to belong for a long time, until you came along, much like someone else I know," said Anyanwu.

"Didn't one of your sister's leave the Sky Dome to get married?" asked Nana.

"Yes," said Magec.  "To a woman, like Oya."

"A warrior in her own right," said Anyanwu.

"Yes. She was the fierceness as her partner was gentle."  Magec still had a slightly troubled voice.

"So what is the matter, my child?" asked Nana?

"I was just wondering if there was anyone else that was going to raise a family among us, besides you anyway, Nana."

"All of Nana's Sky Dome daughters will get married, eventually. Some will even live among us."

"Even Olokun?" 

"Even her, though she will take the role as a man or a woman for her mate, even changing her form if necessary."

"You are aware that you could change your form too, Magec, if you wanted?" asked Nana.

"Yes, I suppose I can," said Magec.  "But now that you have pointed it out, I truly am fine the way that I am. It's not that I'm attached to this form so much, it's just that I was not able to accept myself this way for so long.  And then we keep finding people on Earth that continue to struggle this way."

"We all have our own unique role to play, until it is time," said Anyanwu.

"Will you ever marry, and have a family, Anyanwu?" asked Magec.

"I already had my family with a human girl long ago."

"She gave birth to the werelions, didn't she?" asked Nana.

"Yes.  In another hundred years, they will be able to reproduce among themselves without any incest effects."

"Are any of them immortal?" asked Magec.

"None of us are truly immortal.  We are merely unique, but no, they are not like us.  Some of them will be, but not from the genes that I have chosen to pass on."

"When will this be?" asked Magec.

"In all due time."

"Meanwhile, now that I have returned, I am ready to reunite with my Sky Dome daughters.  Where is Oya?  My mother sense is tingling," asked Nana.

"She is battling her own tingling, mother sense," said Anyanwu.

"She's in a bad way," said Magec.

"Oya?" asked Nana.  "Oya was the fiercest of them all, especially now.  How could she possibly be troubled?"

"Someone is about to mess with her daughter," said Magec.

"Oh.  That would do it," said Nana.

"Come, let us watch the show," said Anyanwu.

"Yes," said Nana.  "We must save Engungun.

The three wisest came down to the place in between.  They found Oya there, watching Earth.

"Hello, mother," Oya said.  "You look young again.  Are you ready to marry again so soon?"

"I have been old long enough," said Nana.  "But I will not marry again until I am good and ready. The last one was so good, the rest of humanity will find a very hard act to follow."

"Was he that good?" asked Oya.

"He was," said Nana.  "How are you feeling today, Oya?

"I'm feeling good," said Oya.  A tattoo like pattern of light appeared on her arm. "Or I was."  Oya's troubled state reflected on her skin.  The more troubled she was, the more lightening white tattoos appeared.  The more tattoos, the more lightening appeared before the storm...

"Come, we will check on your daughter," said Nana.  "Let us all see how Engungun is doing."

The Three Wisest, and young Oya, came to Earth.  Oya, the power of storms, the power to obliterate, and destroy. 

Engungun was in the form of the water buffalo, drinking.  The Three stood back, waiting.  Oya stepped forward.  Her agitation showing on her many marks appearing on her skin.  Three men came to the nearby pool, armed with guns of a passed time.

"How do they even find the bullets now?" asked Nana.

"With creative ingenuity," said Anyanwu. 

Magec said nothing, simply watching, facial features making creases of concern.

These men, they were not here for the food, they were here for the thrill of it, to kill.  And for the hide.  Engungun allowed her cow's skin to shine blue in the waning light. 

Engungun raised her head above the water, her big eyes peering right through them.

"Who are you?" she asked.  "And what are you doing here?"

She already knew the answer.  She did not tell them so.

Two of the men were taken aback.

"She can talk!"

"What do we do?"

"We kill her anyway, and keep that beautiful hide," said the man that was obviously their leader.

Before they did, Oya stepped forth, her bare skin showing off her glimmerting tattoos, changing and moving across her body.  But the men didn't see that.  They only saw the woman close to state of undress, her breasts only covered by her necklace.  They did not even see they were the shrunken skulls of her last victims. 

The men, all three, smiled an evil smile.  This enraged Oya even more.  She stepped in front of her daughter, still in her animal form.  Engungun began to transform, taking a woman form of her own.  The men smiled even bigger, thinking they had two to share.  Oya said nothing.  Engungun walked to her mother and sadly hugged her.  Looking straight at the men, Engungun said, "Your fate has been sealed." 

Oya and Engungun began to disappear, but instead of a beam of light, as Nana had done, wind and lightening began to appear.

"Oya is always more reckless when Engungun merges with her," said Nana.

"And rightly so," said Anyanwu.  "She only gets involved with the utmost evil beings."

"I wonder how long it will be before Ayao joins us?" asked Magec.

"Here she comes now," said Nana.

"Oya!" shouted Ayao.  "Are you going about this without me again?"

Finished with her anger, Oya said, "Looks like I got carried away again."  The men were long gone by now, thrown in the heavens above in the throws of Oya's tornado.

"Don't worry sis," said Ayao.  "I will take over from here."

Both Ayao and Oya had the power of a tornado, but though only Oya had the power of hurricane and lightening, Ayao also had the power to be gentle.  She could still the breeze and thus quiet the storm, as well as allowing the world to feel her wrath.

Nana put her hands on Oya's shoulders.

"How are you feeling my daughter?"

"I am well.  They can not hurt me now."

Nana hugged her daughter.  "Goddess or otherwise, there is no greater power than to still the storm in your soul."

"My heart is full," said Oya.

"I am glad, mother," said Engungun.

"Come girls," said Magec.  "Let's go back to the Sky Dome.  I will braid your hair."

"Wonderful idea," said Ayao, finished with her work.

"Carry on, ladies.  Carry on," said Anyanwu with a smile.  "I will go run.  There are more where they came from."  Anyanwu already began to change to his lion form."

"I will join you later," said Engungun.  "There are a couple that show the capability for progress."

"If they only take the time to listen," said Anyanwu. Completely transformed, he bounded away.

"Let us go, my darlings," said Nana.  The women went walked away, hand in hand.