The Sunspire take me back to the night we met

Wraen may have captivated her audience of one, and the adoration Ibis held for the music tutor was immense indeed, but nothing could compete with the girl's limitless love for her immediate family. Okeanos was a good pillow, playmate, and partner in crime when the two of them wanted to investigate the world — but Ibis' best friend would always be her mother. Today, Ibis didn't want to play games with her brother or venture in to the sun for a lesson with Wraen. No, today, today, it was all about her mummy!

She'd woken to the sound of birdsong again, having been jostled awake by a twitch of her brother's little feet, and with a roll she distanced herself from his wriggling and found comfort against @Seabreeze. But she was too awake to get back to sleep — plus, with the midday sun beaming across her mother's fine coat, she just looked too pretty, and Ibis' attention was fixated on her mother for the time being. She babbled softly and reached out with a tiny paw, caressing a clump of pale fur, and murmured: Mmaa, mmaamaaama!

Even if it seemed as if everyone but those who shared her den seemed to have some sort of misplaced disdain for her, all was right when she was surrounded by her family.  Seabreeze was, of course, a doting and indulgent mother.  Her children were so well behaved there was little discipline that was needed, so most of the days were spent sunbathing or collecting river stones with the little ones.  A small pile of toys were scattered around the sun-dappled den; feathers here and there, bones and antlers galore.  Truly, they were a spoiled bunch.

But she would not have it any other way for her most special children.  The birds were chirping this fine afternoon, sun sprayed over the den through the cracks in the rock above.  She felt her daughter's fine-crafted toe beans against her side and rolled over, moving her paw around the fragile girl in a swift hug.  Ibis, baby, she crooned, pressing her nose to the crown of her head, I love you so.

Oh! Mama heard her! They looked at one another for a minute or two, and then Seabreeze dipped in close, speaking in hushed tones with words that Ibis did not understand but rather, she felt. It was a good feeling. It was always something pure - a goodness reserved for the mother-daughter pair. Ibis basked in her mother's affections happily, cooing in her own dialect, and mimicked: wav-ooo!

yes, my sweet girl, she said as her eyes crinkled at the corners, a wide and quivering smile on her face, i love you so very much.  she placed a kiss on the top of ibis' head, and rested her nose there to gather in the pup smell that was quickly fading.  her daughter was growing so fast but they shared a bond and she knew it could only develop as the babies grew.  can you say ibis?

Her mother's nose was cold and uncomfortable in contrast with her warm skin, but she didn't wriggle much, savoring the contact instead. The vibration of her mother's voice was incredibly comforting; perhaps this was why she was so adamant to learn how to do the same, to speak or sing, because it reminded her so much of mummy. This lesson started easily - and Ibis tried her best, eyes bright with a faint understanding, Ahh-beea? She said first, but her own ears detected the differences, so she tried again: Ahh-baahs.

very good, my dear!  she swiped her tongue across the top of her dandelion daughter's head, and gently pulled her closer for a moment in a hug.  ibis ce-ruuu-le-an.  the girl's middle name was lengthened as seabreeze sang across the four syllables.

This was a fun game; anything was fun when her momma was involved, and especially when she could practice using her voice. This next part was complicated—and Ibis listened as best she could, her voice almost like a purr as she recited, Abbahh seee-woo'n, and she couldn't stop there. Somethign about those sounds made her try again, stretching out the syllables like her momma was, but fixating on one sound, until she turned her name in to a song: See-woo-ooo-ooOOoh!

listening to her daughter's off-key howling brought tears to her eyes, but not because the sound she made was so ear-piercing but because it was beautiful.  their daughter had a gift, truly!  ibis cerulean, she confirmed with a dip of her nose.

Ee-bee, she murmurs again, her voice only a sigh. But then she perks up; her ears tremble a little and she looks askew from her mother at the den's entry point, as if she's heard something. Then she settles again and presses her little nose against Seabreeze, sighing, Ee-bee, an' Okee too. An' mama Seebee... An' dah! Yeah, she was reciting her little family. She couldn't figure out how to say something complicated like Terance and opted to give him a simpler calling, whoops.