Firefly Ravine "Speak", the queen said

A lot was changing for the little terrified girl. To start; there was no other blob beside her anymore. She also wasn't sure if they even looked like blobs anymore, for they really had grown. Her ears, she had noticed, were perked up, and all the sounds were a lot clearer to the young babe. Sharp thing in her mouth, that often pricked her own tongue, were one of her daily struggles. She was warm, even when laying away from her mother, and was able to walk and see better. She didn't know why she was not allowed to go outside, but every time she tried, she was held back.

Today, the little girl was sitting in the den, eagerly waiting for her mother to wake up. She wanted to go out, explore the world for just a while, and then come back in fear yet accomplishment. She barked a few times, eyes adjusting to the morning sunlight that streamed inside the den.

Sen had been dozing, rest being crucial when raising childre—no, a child. Yet her ears were always perked, listening to the sounds around her and remaining alert even as she slept. She had started with three children, truly, yet only a single girl remained. The woman would not admit defeat, nor that she had failed, and so her plan was simply to forget Sao. She no longer existed, she never did. The Gorgon had only ever given birth to a single daughter, the very same that she kept within the den. Yes, that was how things were, and she wouldn't allow for any others to speak against her claim.

From her sleep she'd been dragged, the sound of barking having forced her to not only wake up, but sit up. Immediately, her gaze flew to the entrance, looking for any signs of intruders before scanning the den for her child. When she'd located her, the woman released a quiet sigh as a glare settled across her face. "You need to be quiet," the mother stated. "If you aren't quiet, you will be kept in the dark." Because that totally wasn't already the case.

Big blue eyes blinked at her mum, a tiny smile settled on the babe's face. She really was growing up, and to keep her in the den would be torture for such a young soul. Surely it wasn't that dangerous to go outside, for she had been there before with the dark stranger. Her head was held upright, much resembling the royal way her mother used. She blinked, head leaning to one side, one paw hovering in the air as she tried to stay in balance.

She could not understand a word her mum was saying, but the last bunch of sounds stook out to her. Dlak? She tried to repeat. She looked around the den for a moment, not knowing what she had said. Dlak, dlak, dlak... She hummed softly in boredom, looking to the opening. A plan sprouted in her mind, one that was the most out of character for the girl ever. She got her little ass off the ground and waddled her way to the opening-to the light of day.

Finally there, her head sticking out to see more colors and feel the warmth of the sun, she turned around to see how her mum would react. Dlak? She said again, her own way of asking if she could go.

Mispronounced and then repeated several times over, essentially annoying the new mother to no end. "Dark," the woman had insisted, drawing out the word with the intention of making her speak it correctly. To hear her talk so terribly was almost embarrassing, for always were the Gorgons refined individuals. Every female of their family knew how to get their way, and often did they use words to do so. Those incapable of speaking properly were useless creatures, and so corrections began immediately.

Still had the girl said it the same, forcing the woman's ears to fall back. Had she somehow given birth to a defective specimen? Had Depp's genes truly been so awful that the child spawned from his loins could not even speak appropriately? Oh, how she wished not. She'd been prepared to try again, perhaps even force the whelp to speak as one should, but fell silent whilst watching the movements of the other. It was towards the entrance that she'd gone, and so Sen allowed for a low growl to rumble within her throat as a warning. "Come here now," the elder wolf commanded. "You don't go anywhere without me, do you understand? Don't even try to leave." Did the child have a death wish? "Get back over here and sit. You're going to practice this until you say it like it should be spoken." She was serious.

Her little head tipped to the side as her mother said the word again. She nodded, as a little wise girl, and said. Dlak. A grin spread across her little maw as she giggled. Silly mum repeating her. Chusi knew what she was saying was totally identical to what mum had said. If she could hear what mum was thinking of her though, she would've been offended greatly. This was her first time talking, and mum should be proud of her for even trying. With so little conversation that went on between the two Gorgons, she should be glad Chusi wasn't a mute.

Chusi stumbled back inside the den as a growl erupted from her mum and she let out a yelp. Growling coming from the dark was now her least favorite thing ever, and with her head low in apology, she stumbled back to the dark form that was her mother. She listened to her mother, though could only understand parts and the tone she was speaking in. Mummy wasn't happy with her performance, and somewhere Chusi wanted to go back in time to never speak at all. She plopped her butt on the warm ground of the den. Her ears lowered themselves as she looked up with a sad face to her mother. Daallrk... She tried again softly.

The yelp had taken her by surprise, but she'd been far too wrapped up in her goals to have responded to it. She had to get her child speaking properly, to honour all of the Gorgons that had come before them. The apology was noted, as was the lowering of her ears once she'd sat down. Clearly the girl was learning to listen, so that was something. Yet, it was not the same as speaking. It was the mother's wish for her daughter to talk with eloquence, to showcase the silver tongue that had been worked into her genes eons prior to her conception. And so her second attempt was listened to, the intensity of Sen's gaze lessening in the process. "That's better, but not good enough," was her reply, however. "D–arc." As the word was spoken, it'd come out slowly. With the word having been drawn out, she'd hoped that the child would be able to understand it better, and then repeat it back effortlessly.

The workings of a child's mind were something that Sen could not understand. She'd never been around children so young before, and so the rate at which they were meant to develop was lost on her. She knew only the workings of her own mind, as well as the other Gorgons, and so there was nothing that could be done about her insistent demands.

Chusi didn't listen because she had to and wanted to, no. She just found her mother really scary when she was angry. Of course she wouldn't want to listen to a being that kept her locked up in the dark all day and night, but at least the girl had accepted her dark fate. This was her life, and yet she could do only so little with it. She kept her eyes on her left paw as she moved it around in boredom and nervousness.

Her ears perked back up as mum talked, but she didn't sound all that impressed. This wasn't boosting her self-confidence at all, even though she had lots of it with strangers. It was just something about her mother that drained the life out of her in a way, and she couldn't explain it. Daaark... She tried again, this time being somewhat successful with copying.

Sen did not worry about things such as scaring her child, for she strongly believed that it was important to introduce her to the bad of the world long before the good. For the bad would always be the most effective on one's life, tossing an individual through troublesome twists and turns. And so she acted with the best of intentions in mind, but her execution left little room for anyone to assume that.

Again, the word was repeated, though this time it actually sounded as it was meant to. Drawn out a bit, yes, but close enough to earn the girl words of praise. "Good girl, Chusi," the mother voiced, a genuine smile finally filling out her features. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" The woman lowered herself then, reaching out to the girl with a parted maw, only to pull her in closer rather than deliver some form of punishment. "The more you learn, the more I'll let you go outside. You need to represent your family well." It was the most important thing, after all, that the Gorgon image not be ruined.

Chusi only knew that everything she liked was outside, and the one keeping her into the dark was her mother. She was the bad guy of her captured princess story, she found. Why didn't they go out like family? Why did they have to stay here?

She was praised, but it didn't do her much. All she could think about was going outside to play and explore. She wanted to see Zephyr again, for he was always up for playing. She stumbled a little closer to her mother, making a playful bow, swaying her tiny tail in the air. She barked, silently asking for some playing. Perhaps if she'd get her mother playing, she'd go outside with her since there was more room there.

Let's wrap this up, aye?

A continuation of their lesson had been wanted, but not received. Instead, she'd watched as her daughter had lowered herself into a play bow, an act that the woman hadn't seen in quite some time. Rather than giving in and playing with the girl, she'd given a shake of her head. "Not right now, Chusi," declared the mother. "Some other time. Maybe we'll be able to find you someone your own size to play with." Sen had never been the type to kidnap, primarily because she despised most children. However, due to what had happened with Sao, another child was the only being that she felt particularly comfortable with allowing around her remaining daughter. For one kid could not steal away another, and that was what she was most concerned about; losing her firstborn had, had a greater effect on her than she'd ever care to admit.

"Practice speaking some more," she'd eventually suggested. "The more words you learn, the longer you'll be allowed to play for." It was Sen's version of do you homework, and then you can go outside.

The smile disappeared from the little girl's face with a whimper of disappointment as her mother shook her head. She didn't understand much of the sentence itself, but it was undoubtedly something about why mother couldn't play with her. She wandered closer to her mother, silently asking for permission to cuddle up against her. If nothing would happen, she was better off asleep- the time seemed to go faster that way. With a yawn she lied down, either snuggled up against her mother or somewhere near her depending on how she would react to her request.