Silvertip Mountain the raven

take your time <3

she lingers near the base of the mountain, not willing to go deeper into the territory.

where is Aventus? she would have thought he'd greeted her by now, but no sign of her shadowy brother, though his scent wreaths the borders as much as anyone's. even if he is off on some errand, it's for his sake that she keeps away.

well, and her father's. Merrick had been more inclined to chase after his ankle-biter girl than linger around with her and that. . .well, she shouldn't be surprised. she isn't.

but she is a little hurt.

still, her thoughts are not solely trained on him, more so on her mission. . .and her mother. she's been calling for @Astara when she can, inviting but not insistent. trying to keep the desperation from her voice as she stalks the perimeter.

she's afraid. afraid that once she's within Astara's orbit, she will not stray from the dark woman's breast again. but she knows she cannot leave this place without seeing her; it would, perhaps, shatter both of their icy hearts. and she cannot—will not—do that.

how many times did her daughter call, before astara woke?

she twitched an ear, once again straddled between the realm of the sleeping dead and the living. a fiery shape, more shadow than flame, crouched just beyond her vision --

and then she was sucked again to the waking world, the shadow pulled back into thin beams of light and the quiet drone of insects overhead.. and a voice --

her daughter's, she knew better than she knew anything --

she started, propping instantly to her feet. running, with a howl sent into the world like a volley of arrows after the distant call of avicus.

a shadow, coming—

it was too real.

Avicus spins to find Astara approaching, jaw slack, eyes wide, and she runs—

ma.

she embraces her with fervency—if she'd allow. if not, distance between them, but still Avicus happy, gaze raking over her mother. drinking her in, knowing she may not see her again all too soon.

i mihh' you, Avicus exclaims, tripping over her words. she wants to bowl Astara over in her joy, but stands upright, stilted, waiting. how—

she knows.

no distance or span of time was a length too long to forbid the embrace of mother and daughter; when astara found avicus she gathered the last of her strength to roughly embrace her daughter, to hold tight, to hold and never let go --

but that was not the reality of the world, and her daughter was not her own to control. she stepped back, tinged with that mother's sadness, as she looked over the form of her daughter.

grown.

new scars.

new experience etched in those infernal purple eyes.

i miss you.oh, how bitterly astara wished she could speak, to tell her daughter the same. she waited, expectant for avicus to finish -- waited for the words she knew might come. that she had found her only to leave again -- that she had her own life to live beyond that which her mother could provide.

she stares at Astara, and her breath, her heart, comes faster and faster. you noh' righh, she remarks, shaking her head. wha' happen? 

the ebony coat is dull, the twin of her gaze glazed over. Avicus feels her knees becoming watery and pulls close to her mother again, pressing against her, as if her frame can support Astara and keep her upright for as long as necessary. for forever.

new pup, she remarks, and smiles. i mehh' her. she moves her head to meet her mother's eyes directly, nonverbally expressing her approval.

fierce, like them. like them all.