Dragoncrest Cliffs vwa lanmè a

lil maleah cameo <3

mireille, now a mother for the second year.
maleah had watched her change under pregnancy in quiet admiration, always offering whatever assistance she could. away from the eyes of their sisters, the healer gave soft glances of longing; sometimes, her touch lingered a bit longer than was necessary, breath caught in her throat like a swallowed knife, wishing in some distant way that the children she bore belonged to both of them.
weeks passed and with them came preparations for the birth. she worked alongside chacal and val to keep her safe and cared for; a warm tea here, a soaked clump of moss there; dried kelp and lavender, prayers to whatever higher powers that might be. and then came the classic signs of labor, the tightening of muscles. maleah could do little but watch from afar.
mireille had gone to her nursery, and all the while the sapphire was a nervous wreck. for hours she sat near the roja den with the eldest children, tail twitching subconsciously against the thawing earth. she gauged reactions from miette and thibault, and in some way sought comfort from them as well. little sobeille, ever faithful assistant, had grown so much —! her heart aches for how she will once again watch as the seababes sprout into grown spirits.
when the time comes for visitors, maleah hurries to beat the inevitable crowd at the side of sobeille; with her she brings a calming root and moss soaked with drink. there are four. four beautiful, tiny bodies, and at the center of their orbit is mireille — fierce, radiant, incredible mireille, sleeping peacefully now.
they're beautiful, aren't they? she whispers in passing to val as she reaches to touch her palm to the obsidian's wrist. you did good, mir.
as she gazes down at the new mother, her eyes sting with silent affection that for now only exists between them.