Northstar Vale Phyllis -- a woman -- has uslurped my role as Santa.

DENizens only (hahaha get it)

set July 23

She was on a mission. A small mission, but one nonetheless.

It was mostly complete. She had found another rock of many reds, had cleaned it until it glimmered in the sun, and now was on her way to present it to @Ibis. A present, if you will. 

But she had something else up her sleeve, too.

Lilitu felt instantly warmer as she left the morning breeze and entered the stuffy close quarters of the den. It would soon be too suffocating to stand; she loved the open air. But her mother was here, and so she approached with a grin visible even beyond the rock in her mouth. 

She placed the gift at Ibis' dainty paws, turned still-innocent eyes upward, and uttered her first word (oft-practiced in idle solitude) to another soul:

Mama!

Ibis had tucked herself in to the den with some care, as Arielle had slept most of the morning away and she did not want to wake her. When the hours progressed and the child remained slumbering the mother began to fret about; she gathered the cherub to her breast and started to groom at her carefully - and then with such gusto that she might have jostled her awake. Bits of dust collected on her tongue but she hardly cared.

After this, Ibis looked for her other daughter - and found her tawdling in to the den with something clutched between her teeth. This sent Ibis in to a small panic. What if Lilitu tripped and swallowed the rock? What if she choked?! The little one plopped the item down and called out, Mama!

Ibis hurriedly scooped the stone away, listening to it clatter against the den wall where it sank in to some soil. Lilitu, no! That could hurt you — that — wait. Did she speak? Was that -- Oh, but that was very good! Can do you it again? Say it - say mama.

Her mood quickly shifted from pride to distress as Ibis took the stone away, tossing it in the dirt (!!) before fussing over her. Lilitu bore it with a scowl, dutifully saying, Mama, in a subdued tone before padding over to the rock. 

Ugh, it was dirty again!  It would need to be cleaned. But for now, she picked it up and brought it back to her mother, pushing it with emphasis toward Ibis. Mama. Fowh you, she explained. 

Swear to God, she would lose her mind if the present was to be discarded once more.

Hearing her daughter speak was magical, euphoric, and simultaneously terrifying. How much longer before her babies were all grown up? It struck her powerfully in that moment - already Lilitu was eager to take on the world, she could walk and run and talk, she could sing like Ibis used to; how many more days could Ibis keep both of her daughters safely contained? She wanted them all to herself before then world could come crashing in upon them.

Days, maybe? A mere matter of weeks? The den was already too small; Ibis knew she should have relocated them to the rendezvous by now, and delayes introductions to the pack for selfish reasons. She was their mother! She was supposed to keep them safe.

Lilitu fetched the dirty rock and offered it again, as if it were something precious. The gift sat before Ibis, who was briefly overwhelmed with emotion and the abundance of thought. In an offhanded manner she observes the stone and says, That's nice, thank you.

Well, that wasn't quite the reception she was hoping for. Mama seemed distracted by something, as if there were more important things to consider than the stone. Lilitu frowned. She didn't like her gift playing second fiddle to whatever else was in Ibis's brain.

Nice, she emphasized, and took the stone from her mother. She lay down upon her belly, placed the precious object upon her paws, and began to clean it once more, removing the dirt that had sullied it when her mother had so callously tossed it aside. Le gasp.

(She was well on her way to becoming a drama queen—a real pain in the ass.)

Once the rock was polished up to her satisfaction, she looked back up at Ibis. Mama, she said again, and nosed at the striations of the rock, the varying shades of red and brown fading to black. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She really thought Mama would have liked it.

Yes, it was a rock. Lilitu seemed quite focused on it. She kept trying to get her mother's attention and after further prompting, Ibis at least understood that it was important to her to give it away, to have her mother be attentive and present. The woman did her best. How many of these little moments would she get?

Ibis lowered herself so she could look at the rock and at Lilitu together, carefully nosing at the object to get a glimpse of the pattern upon it. It is very pretty, just like you. But it still wasn't a toy for someone so small, she thought. Can I keep it? Ibis asks, intent to build a collection of things - mementos of her daughters childhood mostly.

That was more like it. Lilitu smiled demurely, feigning shyness at the compliment, though inside she was all fireworks and 'yeah, I know'. At Ibis's question, she nodded enthusiastically—that was the point! It was a present; she already had one just like it, although given her mama's reaction today, she'd best keep it hidden away.

Its fowh you, she stressed, grinning. She hoped the woman would take good care of it. With luck, maybe her daughter would bring her more for the collection.

Lilitu was already itching to look for more, and she looked out the den entrance a little impatiently, then back at Ibis. Mama play? she asked, her stubby tail wagging. She played a lot with Arielle, and her sister wasn't boring, exactly. . .but a game with her mother might be a refreshing change of pace.

Without waiting for a response, she loped clumsily out of the hollow, only stopping to turn and look back when she heard any kind of footfall behind her.

wrap this? :)

Ibis realized how important this moment was, this stone was, and watched as Lilitu's face morphed in to a big smile. Her heart overflowed with adoration when the little one's voice murmured to her, and she made a little show of carefully examining the stone again before tucking it close.

Thank you very much, Lilitu. The mother politely adds, booping her daughter on her forehead with her nose; a tiny kiss.

The girl was antsy, pulling away from Ibis mid-nuzzle and heading for the den mouth. That hurt, a little. Mama play? Lilitu queried with a whip of her tail, and Ibis couldn't help but laugh softly and nod, striding towards her, in to the light. Mama will play with you. Come now, lets find a nice warm spot -- lets not wake your sister.