Cast of Characters
All locations, events, people, and so forth, are real and true to my life. For everyone's privacy protection, I've given everyone aliases.
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Nuria. Me. The name means "fire goddess." [Silverstag Eco Hamlet, starting August 2015. Lived in Snowland 2011-2015. Lived in Sunnyland in 2010.]
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Paladin. My husband. The name means warrior of honor - one who lives and breathes moral codes. Married since 2010. Met online in 2009. [Silverstag Eco Hamlet, starting December 2015.]
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Hibiscus. My fiancé. Planning our wedding for May 2016. We met August 2015. Paladin and I live in Hibiscus's house in a community called Silverstag Eco Hamlet.
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Location Reference
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Snowland: My home city, where I grew up, where my parents live.
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Silverstag Eco Hamlet: Where Hibiscus lives, and where I began living starting August 2015. Silverstag is three to four hours east of Snowland. Otter and Polecat live next door to Hibiscus and I.
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The South: An area encompassing regions 8 to 15 hours south of Snowland, where it doesn't snow.
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Sunnyland: A region a day or so west of Snowland, where is does not snow. Paladin lived in Sunnyland when I met him online, and for the year of 2010 I lived with Paladin in Sunnyland. I visited Sunnyland in February of 2016 to see Nelum.
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The Island: A place Paladin and I lived for five months during the summer of 2013.
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People Reference
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Oryx. My mentor. She is a leader, a leader like the Nome of the Oryx in the books The Eye of Horus and Lord of the Horizon. This post is written three weeks after meeting her. Polyamorous. Bi-sexual. In her forties. [Many hours east of Snowland.]
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Hare. The Nome of the Hare was the ally of the Nome of the Oryx, just as my friend Hare is the most staunch ally to Oryx. While Hare has been a best friend of Oryx for many years, I didn't meet Hare until Autumn 2014. Polyamorous. Bi-sexual. In her thirties. [Many hours east of Snowland.]
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White Whale - My main client who provided almost all of the income that Paladin and I lived on for many years. I did some work for him in 2010, and more in 2011. From 2012 through half of 2015, Paladin and I lived off of income from White Whale almost exclusively. When I moved in with Hibiscus and became his partner in September 2015, Hibiscus started supporting me financially.
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Past Partners
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Porcupine. My third love. "Porcupines" are what we called ourselves while we dated. We called ourselves porcupines - two of a kind - in a world where nobody else understood us. We were together two and a half years, 2007-2009, starting when I was seventeen years old. [Snowland.]
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Dragon. My second love. He was fierce, strong, overwhelmingly powerful in body, mind, spirit and charisma. He also had a temper and jealousy hoarded his riches - spiritually. We were together a year and a half, 2005-2007, starting when I was sixteen. [Many hours west of Snowland.]
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Wolf. My first love. He is part of a wolf pack on the other side. He sees the wolves in his dreams and meditations. I've felt them before when meditating with him, back when we were together. We were together for two years, 2004-2005, starting when I was thirteen. [Snowland.]
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Squirrel - Dated him when I was thirteen, before Wolf, but never fell in love. Never actually had vaginal intercourse, but we messed around. We shared a love of anime and skater clothing. Years later I often would show him my breasts on webcam while he masturbated. [Snowland.]
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Past Lovers
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Nelum. The name "nelum" means "lotus." Nelum is wise, inward, deep, highly present, and aware. He is focused on cultivating his senses, his energy, and his life-force. He loves to give pleasure through massage and tantric sex. I met him in 2010 when I lived in Sunnyland. In February 2016 I flew out to spend a week with him. That turned out to be quite the unexpected adventure.
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Gongchan - An attractive man around my own age. I call him "Gongchan" because he's into energies, Qi Gong and various spiritual practices. I mostly saw him at raw food potlucks. In the summer of 2015 he lost his virginity to me. [Snowland.]
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Basket Bear. An accidental almost poly partner . . . We officially were a couple for only a few weeks, and I only spent three days with him. Mermaid was also played by this same guy, and unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, I didn't learn that until a year after the fact. This happened in 2014. [Many hours east of Snowland.]
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Cerylidae - Guy I met on a dating site and slept with once in 2009 (after I left Porcupine but before I met Paladin). We became friends afterward. He bought some research from me once. He was the first person I ever met who considered himself a Libertarian and spoke about it openly. [Snowland.]
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Snowland (My Home Town) Friends.
Ficus - Ficus means "fig tree". Fig trees are highly flexible and beautiful, and that is why I call this man Ficus. [Snowland.]
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Dolphin. She is playful, fresh, fun, and delightful all around. Here is an entry where we're talking to each other the week after becoming a couple - a short-lived event in 2015. [Snowland.]
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Thistledown. She is soft in manner, tone and opinion. She is very kind. Paladin loves her and they share a platonic intimacy. [Snowland.]
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Mermaid. She is deep and mysterious like a sea creature, fluid and beautiful in her movements. She is an exotic dancer. She is the woman who introduced me to polyamory, and it is indirectly through her that I met Oryx, Hare, Farm Ox, Papaya, Basket Bear and many others in my "Cast of Characters". This post is about the day I met her, which is a memorable experience, indeed. I've had many revealing dreams about her. [Snowland.]
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Macaw - From 2011 through the end of 2014 I went to Macaw's house once a month for a potluck where my Snowland friends would gather. Attendees would tend to include Paladin, my dad, Ficus, Dolphin, Thistledown and sometimes Dancing Chef, Gongchan or Eagle. [Snowland.].
Dancing Chef - A woman who is a chef and a dancer. She lives nearby and is very "awake." She met Oryx and Hare when they visited me in November. [Snowland.]
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Ferret - Childhood friend who I played with dolls with. Recently she's come back into my life as part of the classes Oryx and Hare are teaching. Also, Wolf once implied that Unicorn and Ferret were a thing, but Unicorn denied it. I've not asked Ferret about it. [Snowland.]
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Starfish - A young hip girl into vintage clothing, healthy eating, alternative living and games. [Snowland.]
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Unicorn - Wolf's best childhood friend. Often was around when Wolf and I were together. I once had a thing with Unicorn. Probably the only relationship I've ever had that I could call a "fling." The rest were more like one-night stands, experiments or long-term, loving relationships. [Snowland.]
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Ghost - Guy I once slept with. I met him at a potluck. Not one that Macaw organized personally, but he may have been there. I was single at the time that I met Ghost and very much seeking someone. (This was after I left Porcupine, but before I met Paladin, in 2009.) He sorta ran off midway into the sex telling me "the energy changed". He's somewhat of a creepy guy. Has some things in common with Nelum, actually. [Snowland.].
Angelfish - Woman I met on September 4th 2010. She has remarkably remained in my life through the years. [Snowland.]
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What I wrote about Angelfish in November 2009: She's a chatty older woman who I think wants me. She's very beautiful for her age, and I've considered her seriously. We have a lot in common, but at the same time, I feel like there is some sort of disconnect when we're together.
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Perhaps it's just my imagination, and maybe it's because she's so chatty that a lot of what she says comes off as fake, but while I feel much more comfortable with her than I do with most, it's still not the sort of comfort one needs to have a relationship. Also, I can't see myself having anything other than a fling with a woman in her forties, and a fling isn't what I want or need in my life.
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I've only hung out with her three times thus far, but I can see us spending a day in two weeks or even every week eventually. Although, her unreliability and tendency to be late might be a cause for us not be as close in the future as we otherwise could be.
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Polyamorous Friends
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Otter & Polecat - A polyamorous couple I met at the polyamory gathering I've attended a few times. I took interest in Otter romantically starting in January of 2015. Nothing has come of it, even though he lives right next-door to me starting in August 2015. [Silverstag Eco Hamlet.].
Mink & Pika - Another poly couple from the poly gathering. I find Mink beautiful, but she is very reserved and I'm unsure how she feels about me. I'm not highly attracted to Pika, but he is very much into board games and has a sweet personality. [Many hours east of Snowland.].
Ocimum - A very knoweledgable, charasimatic dancing herbalist who I visited for a little while in January 2015. I met him online originally. He's polyamorous, and I've considered dating him, but he's a seven hour drive from me, living near the same area as Oryx, Hare, Rooster, Mink and Pika. [Many hours east of Snowland.].
Rooster - One of Oryx's poly partners. [Many hours east of Snowland.]
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Farm Ox & Papaya - Polyamorous partners of Oryx. They also know Mermaid. They live on a tropical island. Paladin and I stayed at their farm for a little while in 2013. This post is written while living at their house. [The Island.]
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Long-Distance Friends
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Tengiz - Raw food man in his forties who looks as young as 27 easily. Long blond hair, deep blue eyes. Fascinating perspectives on life. Has been dating Avani since 2010. Paladin and I met Avani and Tengiz at raw food potlucks back when we lived in Sunnyland in 2010. I saw them again February 2016 after having a fall-out with Nelum who I had originally come out to Sunnyland to visit. [Sunnyland.]
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Aloe Spine & Pea Sprout - Dear friends of mine who moved away. Aloe Spine is an older woman who is highly intelligent and open minded. Pea Sprout is her husband who she met online and moved to be with. They met in their sixties! They still ride their bikes around and they eat a raw vegan diet. They're very inspiring people.
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Snow Leopard - Paladin's best female friend before he met me. He once loved her deeply, but they never had a romantic relationship. Snow Leopard had a relationship at some point with someone I call Pastel Lion. [Hours east of Snowland.]
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Family
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Kitten - Somewhat close female relative who I saw somewhat in my teens, but have not seen in the first five years of my twenties.
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Turtle - Somewhat close male relative who is nearly the same age as me.
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Sheep & Elephant - My brothers. Elephas is the wife of Elephant.
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Grizzly Bear - Uncle on my Dad's side
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Whale - Grizzly Bear's wife
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Procyon - Aunt on my Mom's side. Her sons are Shrew and Beaver.
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Kangaroo - Cousin of mine who saw me a lot as a child, but we never cross paths as adults it seems. She's been married four times. Her eldest son is Lizard.
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Writer's Group Members (met monthly in Snowland 2007-2011)
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Antelope - Kind woman around the age of my mother. Has a nice lake near her home. Writes poetry.
Panther - Ofter was too busy to attend writer's meetings. He's into "Sacred Geometry" of cities, spirituality, and environmentalism.
Cheetah - Sassy woman who sold her beautiful home with its organic garden in the country to move into a flat in the city. She makes me laugh and cry and writes beautiful screen-plays. Her husband I call Lion.
Goat - Kind, married man with a white mustache. Likes role playing.
Alligator - Rough sense of humor. Also likes role playing.
Tiger - A short-time member of the writer's group who we sort-of "scared off" by being so open minded.
Seahorse - The founder of the group, a wonderful and beautiful red-head who writes fantastic fantasy novels.
Walrus - Paladin's favorite member of the group, a spiritual man who occasionally hosts D&D at his house, which Goat and Alligator attend
Owl - Woman who writes good poetry and collects owls.
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Pen-Pals Who've Meant A Lot to me
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Lynx - Writes me from Australia since before I met Paladin. We have incredible letters back and forth.
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Frog - Was a major aid to me when I was eleven, twelve and thirteen. We used to talk on the phone every Friday night for five or more hours. He is twenty years older than I, and yet we felt like two hearts and minds meeting on equal ground.
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Fox - Was a penpal I met around the same time I was looking for a man and found Paladin (same time I met Lynx online). I actually just met Fox in person for the first time about a week ago (November 2014) as he happened to be near my city.
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Kittycat - While only being in my life online from Japan for periods of my life, Kittycat was instrumental to my understanding a lot about humanity, various cultures and the nature of the human soul.
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Rabbit - Originally we were just pen pals for a couple years when I was a teen. She is a few years younger than I. She thought of me kinda like a mentor. While I was with Porcupine (when I was eighteen), she flew around a thousand miles to stay with us for a week, which was my mom's idea. Rabbit is a nice girl, but I feel like she has had a lot of trouble getting out of the trap of just bending beneath abusive men. She is a native American who grew up on a reservation.
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Others include: Mongoose, ladybug, stallion, incubus, serpant, centaur, koala, cyclops, artic fox, centaur, salmon and shark.
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More Folks
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Deer - Met in my mid-twenties. A dancer. I've taken a class from her. She's also involved with Contact Improv. I filmed a performance she put together and that my Dad was in. [Snowland.]
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Parrot - Board gaming friend that introduced me to European board games such as Settlers of Catan, Power Grid, Ticket to Ride, Through the Desert, Ra, etc, etc, etc. He bought me my copy of Race for the Galaxy, which was my favorite game for years. He once had a girlfriend who I dubbed Parakeet. Later another girlfriend (who I have not given an animal name) led him to another city, but right now (November 2014) they broken up and seem likely to remain so. [Hours east of Snowland.]
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Here is what I wrote about Parrot & Parakeet in November 2009 (exactly five years ago):
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I've known Parrot for a long time now via my mother. He's a guy in his twenties whose entirely too naïve in the ways of love, and entirely too dorky looking in the face (and a bit socially awkward in the way he speaks). We're friends because we both have a love of board games, and share a competitive nature. His latest girlfriend, Parakeet (the second one I've ever seen him with), is a wonderful woman (although she's a sore loser and a bit cynical in general) who also loves board games. And the three of us and my mother play board games generally about once a week together. This makes for a great night of gaming but usually (and preferably) goes no where near my relationship issues.
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Hedgehog - A jack-ass sort of guy who is really smart and thinks he is an atheist, which is kinda funny when he showed me a lot about spirituality without even knowing it. Pony I met through him, as they started dating and still are dating. Hedgehog and Pony never directly told me to get an abortion, but it was very much because of their influence that I did. (It would have been Porcupine's baby.) [Snowland.]
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Here is what I had to say about Hedgehog five years ago, November 2009:
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I love him to death. Hedgehog, however, chose to start a relationship with Pony shortly after meeting her. This devastated me, and was a factor in my leaving Porcupine. I figured if I was that upset about Hedgehog, then it really was time to leave the relationship. Looking back on it, this was hasty and stupid. Hedgehog and I have tons in common, but he is also in college, and spends a lot of time doing things with Pony that is appropriately just the two of them. He doesn't write or call anymore at all, less than Pony even, which kinda irks me, but ah well.
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Gazelle - Man who runs a web-design company. I used to work for him. [Snowland.]
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Chimpanzee - Singer in a local band. I first met him at an open mic. He keeps showing up in my life, as well as the mother of his child. [Snowland.]
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Hamster - Young man who works for my mom sometimes. He once had his lip split open by Dragon in a sparring match. That was when I was sixteen. [Snowland.]
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Mouse - The woman that Wolf got with after he left me. As far as I understand, Wolf and Mouse are still together. [Snowland.]
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Raccoon - One-time best friend of Porcupine. I rather hated him after a time, as he seemed to be a really bad influence on Porcupine. [Snowland.]
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Goldfish - A girl that Porcupine dated. [Snowland.]
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Dusky Ram - Someone who appeared in my dreams recently (in 2015), but I have not seen in a decade, at least. Went to 10th grade with him and he also attended the Unitarian church's youth group. [Snowland.]
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Viper - A drug addict kid I met in my teens. I was attracted to him. This was while I was with Dragon. I exerted a crazy amount of self-control not to sleep with him. I'm glad I didn't. That guy has really been around, and he's quite rough and sadistic. [Snowland.]
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Grey Lamb - Went to fourth and fifth grade with him while we were in a private school together. I had a crush on him in fifth grade. His father died between fourth and fifth grade, so he was angry a lot. We went on a couple dates when I was single after Porcupine. I went on a lot of dates during that period of my life. He bought me a skirt. I wasn't impressed with him overall, and wouldn't date someone who smokes cigarettes. More recently, he came to a potluck of mine in 2014, but he was very drugged out and we had to throw him out. [Snowland.]
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Yellow Ram - An old colleague of mine from when I was part of a youth movement against the tobacco company; an organizer who always thought highly of me. I requested his information so that I might use him as a reference on my resume. Ironically, I can't even recall his real name anymore. [Snowland.]
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Snowshoe Hare - A long-time friend of my parents who I think of as an Aunt. She used to live with my family for a few years after the house fire. [Snowland.]
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Krazy Kraken - An older lady who is disabled who my parents help out, particularly my mom. Krazy Kraken has often helped my parents financially in return. [Snowland.]
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Rhino - Someone Paladin used to work with. [Sunnyland.]
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Paladin's Family
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Marigold - His mom
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Red Oak - His father
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Joker Bull & Joker Cow - His brother and his brother's wife
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Albino Sheep & Albino Ferret - One of his sisters (the older one), and her husband who she is now separated from (they were married something like ten years)
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White Wolf - Paladin's youngest sister.
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PS: I have not given my mom and dad animal names. I feel it sufficient to just call them "mom" and "dad". If I did give them names, I'd call my dad Mage. And my mom . . . Green Dragon could work.