midnight breezes whistled through the neverwinter canopy, bringing chilly relief to the whelping den from the harsh summer heat. liliana cuddled beside her mother’s stomach and rested her head against the flowing stream of lilac fur between carefully crossed paws. she inhaled and yawned, stretched each of her limbs, and smacked her lips for added relaxation.
another moment of silence passed before being broken by a question.
what dark is?
liliana asked, blinking her eyes as she gazed out into the midnight,
amma, what light is?
these were words often whispered in her mother’s prayers, words which meanings she’d always longed to know. one day, she would be able to pray, too.. but she had to learn what the prayers meant first.
They begun to speak, and Miriam learning just how curious little one's are. However she was patient, as the Maiden remembered those within the Orchid were the same when young. She was the same as well. They wanted to know what all there was, and all that there was to be, "darkness is what you cannot see, or touch," she started, "but sometimes, that darkness can touch you. The light, is what guides you to see, and to keep away the darkness that may enter your heart."
"Darkness is of the cold, but the light is the warmth." She bent down to touch her daughter, feeling her own warmth burn within her heart, as she wholeheartedly loved her children, "you are of light," she cooed.
touch you?
she asked, guide you?
liliana continued parroting her mother, choosing words from spoken phrases to mold into rhetorical questions. the dynamic of light and dark was interesting to the young maiden, despite her inability to truly understand; for now, her knowledge of the religion was seed hardly planted.
her mother went onto explain cold and warm, two things which liliana was more familiar with. another breeze blew into their den from outside, giving her a harsh reminder of how unforgiving the darkness could be. moses light?
she asked, canting her head upward for a better look at miriam.
abba
— her father — light?
more names came, though they were whispered and hardly intelligible.
minor pp
"Touch," Miriam held Liliana close, wrapping her in all the warmth she could supply, "to what makes you feel loved," she craned her neck to bend down appropriatly, in the hope to gently reach her daughters chest, "and warmth you feel here." Anyone in the wilds can feel warmth, however, some may not truly have that heat within their hearts. A coldness, and a distrust as those like that, were within the darkness's grasp. She whispered a short prayer, "may the Goddess help them," to those lost.
"Yes," the maiden nodded, "Asmoses is light, and you are too." However, there was hesitation whether 'Abba,' was of light. She bit her tongue before considering to answer, "is he light, to you? Do you feel, the warmth in your chest with him?"
oh
, she sighed, warm.
liliana smiled and buried herself deeper into miriam’s coat, enjoying the strong scent of lilac which lingered within their den. abba warm
, she assured her mother.. he was the same sort of warm as moses, though neither could compare to that of miriam.
curious, yana asked: why warm and.. uh, abba warm, lili warm, mo-mo warm.. yeah.
the question didn’t really make sense but that was the point, so any answer would work.
Miriam chuckled, "if they are warm in there, in your heart, they are light." When Liliana was older, she would elaborate further, as it wasn't wise for her daughter to trust everyone who felt warm. Though for a child learning, she felt it was sufficient, and a great start to what could be taught.
Her daughter attempted a question, that was hard to dechiper. The maiden had a ponder before trying to answer, "the light, embraces us all. Our Goddess, grants us so."
god - dess?
yana knew the word, but hadn’t yet asked what it meant. what.. where..
, she continued, wondering if miriam might have more information to share. she wanted to pray the way that her mother did, perhaps even join in! but knew that these were things she’d have to learn first.
She was rather excited and pleased over her daughters curiosity over her religion. She had grown up, as if it was natural to the world, and everyone would share the same morals. However with her, being the only teacher, Miriam struggled on how exactly she would introduce the Goddess toward Asmoses and Liliana.
Her daughter, took an interest, "The Goddess, is in the Summerlands," she started, "Heaven, Nirvana, the place of eternal happiness.. You wont be able to see her, but, she can see, and hear you." Her nose touched her sooty daughters head, and smiled to her, "she will hear your worries, your anger, your everything.. She is, what made us wolves."
summerlands, home of the goddess. liliana listened to her mother’s explanation with an expression of obvious wonder, yearning to learn more about this distant land. i go?
she asked, curious if miriam might be able to plan a visit.
miriam continued, sharing that the goddess could actually hear them, despite their not being able to hear her. it didn’t make much sense to liliana (she could hear everyone else, so why not the goddess?), so she asked, why?
you- no, she..
wait, who made her? was it the goddess or her mother who’d given her life? goddess my amma?
liliana asked, obviously confused, but.. you my amma!
"there will be a day, yes. Not anytime soon." She didn't wish to express the only way to get, is after death. Even then, a soul most rewnew itself a hundred times before the Goddess will let them enter, for one must find tranquility, and knowledge through all their lifetimes to require access. She hoped eventually, her own time would come.
"There are thousands who speak to the goddess. Would you want, everyone to speak with you at once?" There was never a reason that was given to why the Goddess does not want to speak to them directly. Occasionally, the Priestess in the orchid could hear her words, and only her words. She remembered this was how the priestess spoke, that a thousand words would be expressed if anyone could speak.
"before I gave you life, the Goddess, blessed you with your soul, and your being, into me," she nuzzled her daughter, "without her, you would not be here with me."
miriam’s lessons were tucked neatly into liliana’s mind, each one folded individually and placed into its slot. she would remember these moments well, learning about their religion, and would use them as reference to teach her own children.
those things were far ahead, though. for now, she was content to fall asleep in her mother’s arms, still humming along to miriam’s voice.
Miriam stopped her godly rambling once she realized Liliana peacefully fell asleep in her arms. The two, Asmoses as well, were both soundly sleeping.. She was happy, about them, maybe not what was before to create them, but she felt blessed to have them. It was a worry though, because at times the maiden felt utterly alone.
She just hoped they would turn out ok.