Dragoncrest Cliffs ma fanmi

he longed for the sea, but they wouldn't let him close. not yet, anyway. the small lake near the roja den would have to suffice for now, and lafayette—recovering fast and itching for independence—stared across the dark waters despondently. the night was black, the moon a hair-thin crescent.

all he could think about was the peace that came between his head going under and his breath coming back.

just waves, slow and steady. the sound of the sea, thundering to the beat of his heart.

land-life seemed to pale in comparison.

but your family needs you, mezanmi.

lafayette spun to find a wolf that shone like stars, her pelt cinnamon and sable, ruddy and rouge. a composite of all wolves that had come and gone from these cliffs, that ran wild through his blood—though he would not know that for sure.

ma fanmi.

the sea only claims us when our time us up, lafayette, she murmured, the touch of her muzzle light as air upon his head; he would have sworn he was imagining things if the fur of his ruff hadn't stirred at her breath.

some could say it was the wind. and perhaps, if one approached now, they would see lafayette speaking to the lake, engaged in deep conversation with no one at all.

the ocean had once nearly taken sobeille’s life — were it not for the heroic actions of suzu, she might not be here today to witness her younger sibling chattering to nothing at all.

she drew closer, content to watch at first — but as the conversation droned on, sobeille became curious as to the topic. what did he see? who did he talk to?

a clinical curiosity overtook the girl, who by all senses ought to call for one of the adults. he was clearly not right - saltstroke or heatstroke or some other suffering delusion — but sobeille wished to see this to its natural conclusion, and so, had no impulse to call for help.

who you be talkin’ to, lafayette? sobeille queried, eyes coming to rest on that empty space where his invisible guardian lingered.

lafayette spun around at sobeille's voice, eyes widening a bit in surprise. not that there was anything to be ashamed or shady about, really.

oh, it's just ma fanmi—

but when he turned back to introduce the woman, she was gone. wait—where had she gone? and why hadn't sobeille been able to see her in the first place?

she been talkin' to me after de wave, lafayette explained, leaving the edge of the lake to sit closer by his older sister. she say she's de. . . he paused, scrunching up his nose as he tried to remember her exact words. 'spirit of our family.'

he felt suddenly bereft without her, but at least sobeille was here. what're you doin' up, sis?

sobeille’s gaze fell upon that empty space, as if she could see the apparition lafayette referred to as ma fanmi. as lafayette turned around, sobeille continued to study the spot.

she was not a disbeliever of ghosts. she'd been saved by one, had she not? she understood the visual world that she perceived was but a fractured piece of a brilliant network of worlds — but why could she not see what he saw?

was it real? or was it simply due to the trauma in his brain?

he sat besides her. though she did not look at him directly, she could sense a solemnity in the air between them.

i always be up. what she be sayin' to you? sobeille asked, willing the very spirit to appear before her eyes.

always? lafayette asked, more genuine than sarcastic. but she followed it quickly with a question for him, and he abandoned the surprise with a sigh, looking toward the lake.

she tellin' me dat de sea only take us when it's our time to go, he explained. but i miss it, sis. i miss de sea. it's so much peaceful dere, beneath de waves.

he looked at her, remembering something from his convalescence that he'd forgotten (until now). couzen etienne say he look like erzulie, an' i t'ink i saw her, lafayette murmured. but i saw someone else, too—lookin' like auntie chacal.

but maybe it was auntie chacal. 

was he going crazy?

he was starting to worry about that.

always. sobeille confirmed, in that same breath motioning she was more interested in the topic of his vision.

he looked to glintwater with a small sigh. while he composed his thoughts and spoke of this spirit’s words, sobeille reflected on the incubus she’d met in the grotto.

she’d been able to see that spectre — why now, could she not sense the vibrant spiritual presence? she wanted more than anything to know erzulie; it knifed her that her grandme would appear to a boy of all things.

sobeille kept such thoughts to herself. de sea? you t’ink it is peaceful down dere? her mind was awash with the memory of her drowning. it’d been full of horribly loud, invasive noise and pressure and water and —

what color eyes de other wolf be ‘avin’? she asked solemnly, wondering if he’d met another ancestor unknown to them both.

he was surprised at sobeille's response regarding the sea. he looked at her for a long moment, tilting his head. of course, he replied, shrugging. under de waves, de silence, de calm. . . 

now above the waves was a different story. 

and he couldn't possibly remember the eyes of the other wolf. he just knew she looked like chacal.

i don' remember, lafayette said honestly. but she was wit' erzulie—or i t'ink erzulie, because etienne say he look like her, an' it wasn't him.

it was honestly slightly exhausting to explain the whole thing. couldn't everyone else see what he had seen?

sobeille earnestly wished she had seen what he had seen: if she could cut open his skull and look upon it and see the images articulated in his mind, she would do so. as it was, such scrying prowess was lost upon her.

she straightened at erzulie's mention. sobeille became guarded, both suspicious and jealous that an ancestor had revealed herself to lafayette -- a boy of all things! what about her? she had spent hours among the totems and the bones, trying anything to connect with those gone to another realm. and here they decided a boy was better?

the flicker of jealousy turned into a different kind of flame altogether. sobeille nestled it against the folds of her heart. etienne be tellin' me 'e look like her also. do you remember what de other one looked like? could it be grandme rosalyn?

like auntie chacal, i said, lafayette said, a bit sharper than he intended. he'd said that, non? not as if he could let others into his head. an' i can't remember her eyes. dat's all.

he began to turn away from the water, from sobeille, suddenly craving the release of dreams and peaceful slumber by his twin sister's side.

if he'd been rude, he would only realize it later—if, in fact, his sister did not confront him for his attitude now.

sobeille’s interest in lafayette clapped clamshell shut the moment she realized he’d made her look stupid. and he had already said what the wolf looked like, hadn’t he?

her eyes hardened. as the boy moved off she thought about how thin the cord was between his spinal column; what it might feel like between teeth —

she shook her head and the vivid imagery faded. maybe he’d seen maleah - that was the only wolf sobeille knew that looked sort of like chacal, other than val- but maleah wasn’t dead.. right?

sobeille decided she was done with children today. dusting her paws, she didn’t pursue lafayette— she made a point to go the opposite direction, in fact.