Dragoncrest Cliffs lalin sale

as twilight found its place upon their sacred land, mireille broke the surface of darkening water and gasped aloud into the cold.
she had come back not long ago, some days, and refitted herself into the movement of quiet life upon the cliffs. chani too had returned, though the girl was yet to come back from her second foray.
girl no longer, to think of it; a young woman chani had become.
but where was miette? mireille knew she must return to the taiga before long.

Tousaint had lingered near enough to the borders that he could patrol, and leave his scent in the vicinity for his mother and auntie to discover when they returned; seasonal changes- the lengthening of days, the warming of winds- were indication enough of why they had left. 

So he returned once again, to send up his voice for his mother to come greet her handsome son once again so he might fill her ears with tales of his adventures.

"oh, mon cher," mireille breathed to herself in a surprised rush of relief and delight. stopping only once to shake streams of seawater from crimson fur, she ran to greet him, and caught the glossy shoulders in a swift embrace.
"it be so good to see you again," she breathed, unable to have kept her usual aloofness. not with what had happened. "where did you go, tousaint? an' what did you see?"

He enjoyed her attention, leaning in to embrace his mother with a soft, velvety chuckle, though his nose wrinkled as he pressed his cheek against her saltcoarse fur. Of course- swimming in the ocean…It  might soften pawpads but it certainly left fur a bit brittle.

Ah, Maman, He greeted, kissing each of her cheeks. I knew you missed me- I missed you too. It ‘as been some time, but I be ‘ome now, He reassured her. 

As for his travels- lacklustre. I went to Eresta for some time, but found I wanted somet’ing different for myself- to wander and roam. Ahmmm, it be Per’aps de most ‘man-ly’ t’ing about me, He claimed with a feathery laugh. I ‘eloped a pack become founded but left when it became clear dat they might resort to inbreeding to keep deir lines alive…Also, deir neighbours, dey be just waitin’ for a sign of weakness before dey attack, so- I left. he finished with a light sigh.

But you, Maman! He said, reaching to take one of her forepaws and hold it between two of his as he balanced easily on his haunches. You be glowing, Mot’er, as radiant as always.

eresta! mireille would have liked to visit, but her musing did not overlook tousaint's joke. her teeth glittered with a grin as he went on, describing an insular pack in the mountains over which poised warriors.
she wrinkled her nose; to avoid such things was why she and the other women had always roamed far as well, perhaps ironically masculine in this singular intention. sparing herself thoughts of val, she favored her son with a great long look of affection.
"i be glowin' because i be carryin' your new bro'ters an' sisters," mireille revealed, kissing his coiffed cheek. "i be glad you came home after all dat. your auntie chacal, she too will have little ones i believe."
for now she reserved her assumptions upon chani, or sobeille for that matter. "you know val be dead?" came her pained voice, hushed on the saltwind.

He tilted his head to accept her kiss, though he immediately lifted a paw to make sure that the fur was soft, slick, and not tousled from her touch. Her announcement did not take him by surprise; the women of Sapphique were as fertile as the fish who spawned in rivers. His eyes squinted lightly as he smiled- glad the family would grow, but secretly loathing the implication that he might be expected to help out as the two leaders were expecting. 

He drew in a breath so that he might offer congratulations without confirming that he would be a helpful older brother, but the breath hitched in his throat at the mention of Val's name. He pulled his head back, lips drawing forward in surprise. Val? He spoke the word so suddenly it caused him to shake his head. What- His brow fell and he gazed hard to one side, before he looked back to his mother again. How- he began to ask, before he shook his head again. I did not know, wh- he said, once again on the edge of asking for a cause of death. The pain in his Maman's voice, however, delayed him. 

The shock subsided, and he was left carrying unexpected sadness. Oh, Maman, he said softly. Valravn had treated him like a son but furthermore, he had treated his mother like a queen. I am so sorry, He murmured quietly, in a rare moment of sincerity.

"drowned. de sea sent him back." her throat, ah, it hurt, it hurt. "lafayette an' lucette found him." his children, though they had not known it. might they have come to comprehend? sapphique would not ever feel the reverberations of that discovery.
it seemed a disservice to her babes.
val — this season felt skewed without a return to his arms, without the assurance that inside her once more he had helped to grow the saltwaves of a new generation.
she did not want to weep, not now and not in front of tousaint. it cost mireille a monumental effort to resolve, and for a moment she only stared emptily toward the sea which had tested val again and again, and at last devoured his fear.