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Old age wasn’t something that Diana had much experience with. The Amazons of Themyscira were immortal and ageless – her mother and sisters looked the same now as she had always remembered them. She’d been the only aging thing on Paradise Island her whole childhood and had never seen its effects on anyone but herself. Diana didn’t know whether she would age now that she’s out in the wider world. That would be something she’d have to figure out over time. She didn’t dread the thought of it, though – Julia made it look so graceful and natural.Julia was the first person she’d seen with considerable wrinkles. Some of the Amazons had faint laugh lines and worry lines, frown lines and crows’ feet from the lives they lived. But Diana had never seen someone with as many as Julia. Her face told a story of a life well lived – of joy and heartbreak and worry and laughter. They were an expression of Julia’s experience and life, and Diana was quite fond of them.Julia was a bit more ambivalent about them. “They’re a sign that I’m not as young as I used to be, but they aren’t so bad. The part that really gets you about aging is the joints.”Julia did, indeed, complain about her joints frequently – especially when the weather was bad. Nessie and Diana exchanged giggles while Julia tromped around the house, bragging and complaining about her “weather wise” hip in equal measure. When it was mild and Julia was in good spirits, amusement could be found. Other times, it was more worrying, when the pain hit hard, and Julia was silent and pale and stiff as she trudged through the day. On those occasions, Diana and Nessie made a pact to accomplish as many household tasks as possible so Julia could rest and they could subtly take care of her. Julia, as far as Diana knew, had no idea about any of this – if she did, she’d argue that she could take care of herself and Diana and Nessie didn’t need to concern themselves with her. Which was nonsense – of course they took care of her when she needed it! And at least those days were few and far between, and Diana could put her worry aside most of the time. After all, Julia wasn’t incredibly old. She had many, many, many years ahead of her.Julia’s hair was just barely shot with silver. It looked lovely and bright when it caught the light. Diana often said as much, which got a chuckle out of Julia. It caught Diana off guard, when she was away for long periods of time and saw more silver in Julia’s hair than there was when she left. It was a visible reminder that time marched onwards and would one day take Julia away.One day, Julia’s age would catch up with her. She’d no longer be as active as she was, working at dig sites and hiking and everything else she did with such cheer and life. Her body would fail her, slowly, and all Diana could do would be to watch. One day, Diana would bury Julia – the first person to welcome her to this strange and wonderful world, the woman who opened her home and her heart to her, her second mother. She dreaded that moment’s arrival fiercely.It was a bit different, with Nessie. Diana had been a young girl once, not so long ago. She remembered the invincible feeling of youth, how it felt to be in a still growing body and relearning it as you grew, the feeling of seeing yourself grow. But it was different, now, seeing someone else going through it. To realize that the top of Nessie’s head now almost reached Diana’s shoulder. To see that the lines marking Nessie’s height that Julia carefully maintained in her bedroom were three inches taller than the last measurement. Diana remembered that one, too – Nessie had been frustrated at the time about how slowly she was growing. Now, she’d hit a growth spurt and couldn’t seem to stop. It was wonderful, it truly was, to see Nessie grow into herself with every new inch. She was growing into a fine young person and Diana was so proud stand at her side and call Nessie her little sister.At the same time, though, she dearly missed when Nessie was at the height where she could easily rest her elbow on her head. She’d been so tiny and precious and young, bold and vibrant and fearless. Not that she wasn’t still those things, but – it was different. The march of time had weathered Nessie, softening some parts of her personality and hardening others. And Diana loved who she was now, of course she did, but – she missed those moments when Nessie had been more wide-eyed and hopeful about the world.Nessie would be all grown up sooner rather than later. That thought pained Diana. Time was precious, but it was also a cruel thing, sometimes, with how fast it slipped through your fingers. Change was good and a natural part of life, yes, but – Diana wanted to savor the time she had with Nessie while she was this young, but between time and her responsibilities as the Ambassador for Themyscira and being Wonder Woman, she had less time than she wanted to spend with Nessie.Julia had similar feelings on the subject. “I get that, Diana. I wish I could spend more time with her – just like I wish I could spend more time with you. Life just gets in the way. You have your responsibilities, I have mine, Nessie has hers, and that’s just how things work out. Our time together is precious because of that.”“It’s not just that,” Diana said. “Nessie is just growing up so fast. She’s gotten so tall so fast and I miss when she was younger.”“I miss when she was five and I could pick her up easily.” Julia chuckled wistfully. “Feels like that was just yesterday when she was so young. Time flies, huh? Before we know it she’ll be graduating and heading out into the world.”“Yes,” Diana said with a soft smile. “And it will be wonderful.”Talking with Julia helped some, but not entirely. Julia was mortal, bound to be taken by time some day. Diana . . . Diana wasn’t, most likely. She was unlike any human, but also unlike her fellow Amazons, being sculpted from clay by her mother. Her fellow Amazons had received immortality from the gods when they were created. Whether she had as well was something she did not know, but it seemed likely. Diana would outlive every one of her friends in the wider world, and that was something she didn’t know how to handle.So she went to the only person she could think of that would know.Her mother took some amusement in Diana’s melancholy, when she went to her to discuss her feelings about Nessie growing up. “Oh, daughter, that’s just a part of loving someone young. I feel the same way about you. You’ve grown up so fast – and grown so much in your time in the outside world. I am so, so proud of you and who you have become, but sometimes I miss the little girl who woke me up in the middle of the night to show me that she just lost a tooth.”“Mother!” Diana complained. “Must you bring that up?”Hippolyta laughed. “What are mothers for, if not to embarrass their children?”“Mmh.” Diana said, leaning her head onto her mother’s shoulder. “What about wisdom and advice?”Hippolyta smiled. “I can try.”“Mother, how do you handle knowing you will lose someone you love to time?”Hippolyta tilted her head to look at her. Gently, she said, “Is there a specific reason you’re worrying about this at the moment, or is this a more general worry?”“I’ve just been thinking, is all. Julia is aging, and it’s beautiful to watch but – some day it’ll take her away. And Nessie is growing like a weed, and she isn’t going to be a kid for much longer. And, if I really am immortal in the outside world, one day I’ll watch Nessie age and die too but I’ll still be the same. And that scares me.”“Oh, Diana,” Hippolyta sighed and brought her arms around her. For a moment, Diana felt like she was young again, safe in her mother’s arms with the knowledge that nothing could ever harm her. “That is a heavy weight to bear.”Diana nodded mutely.“And it is one I cannot help you with.”“What do you mean?” Diana asked. Her mother’s profile looked still and sad and ancient, as though she were a statue formed of clay, looking out at the sea.“Diana, I don’t know everything. It has been a long, long time since I walked amongst mortals, and even then, it was not long and there were none I was as close to as you are to the Kapatelis family. I mourned them when they passed, yes, but it didn’t hit me as hard as these losses will hit you. The comparable losses I have experienced are in battle, which is an entirely different thing, as you well know. It’s sudden, and unexpected, and there’s some physical cause that you can rage against. It’s not a passive and expected thing, where time slips away and drags the one you love with it. Not to say one hits harder than the other but – they’re different forms of grief. And I am sorry that I cannot guide you on that path, and that you will walk it alone.“I do know from experience that immortality does not mean you will be unchanging. Those we love will always change us, and through those changes they will be with you always, I can guarantee that. You will not be a static and unchanging observer of life. You will keep living, keep learning and loving as you meet new people.”“Maybe so.” Diana acknowledged. “But I do not know if I can bear the grief.”Hippolyta ran a hand through Diana’s hair. “Above all, you are resilient. Just like the losses you have endured in battle have not broken you, this will not break you. I have faith in that. I know that this is not a comforting sentiment now, but I hope it will be in the future.”“Thanks, Mother. I’ll keep that in mind.”Hippolyta reached out and squeezed her hand, and that as much as anything in their conversation settled Diana’s heart. She vowed to set her worry aside for now and focus on the present; the future would come, yes, but there was time. The precious time she had in the present was something to be cherished.