Dragoncrest Cliffs father and child

i was titled so i'm going for it - all welcome! edit: changes made to reflect her staying at mossbloom

Cherub’s Wing of Honor rested at the tree in Sapphique’s Mossbloom for the first day or so during her stint in recovery. It was near a source of freshwater for her, but it also reminded her somewhat of home. She was more comfortable here, away from many of the prying eyes she would have encountered in the heart of their lands.

That being said, she looked constantly for the company of @Mireille, who she had found at this point to be a very busy and sought-after wolf. The leader here, much to her surprise.

From being spat out by the ocean to enveloping herself in the open arms of a queen, the girl was still quite exhausted, but she was anxious to know more of Sapphique. She started to slow-walk around along the river, ears perked for someone approaching.

after making her rounds, mireille had settled nearby to take a fitful nap in the cold open. it kept her from sinking into a deep sleep, lest she was needed, ears twitching to every sound that hummed.
since the new and bear-torn woman had come along, she had hardly seen a spot of sleep. when she was not with quen or sword, she was with her mother, working to keep the infection in the stranger from spreading to death.
at footfalls, mireille raised her head, stirring from her riverside respite. "how are you feeling?" the obsidian asked, sitting up and fixing a smile beneath emerald eyes now smeared beneath with the bruised shadows of exhaustion.

Ahead, lulled by the riverside’s music, Mireille lay. Cherub’s Wing hated to disturb her, but before she could back away, the vigilant auburn seawolf noticed her. Sheepishly, the girl shuffled forward, bowing her muzzle in apology for the disturbance.

I’m doing much better, thank you, Mireille. Her tail wagged a little. I was able to keep my food down this morning… and I know I should be resting still, but it was too much lazing for me. She lowered herself onto her belly and inched forward, sniffing towards the obsidian’s chin. How are you? She didn’t want to say that the leader looked tired, but gosh – she looked positively beat.

"i be well. keepin' on my toes," mireille went on to explain, as if she needed to explain the look of herself. "it be good to see you up an' well."
determined to wake, mireille allowed herself the pleasure of cherub's wing respect. "i could show you aroun' a bit now, if you be up for it?"
below the tiredness, the obsidian felt herself perking somewhat — she meant it, meant the pleasure of the tour and of discovering more about their newest.

There was conflict in the air of Sapphique, to which the battered Cherub’s Wing had herself contributed, but Mireille would see it all cast aside during their exchange. There was nothing wrong, nothing wearied between them, and the girl felt a warmness through the chill of the air as she watched the red leader come to life right before her eyes.

It felt impolite to refuse. I’d be delighted, she beamed, rising in one swift move and shaking out her fur as she angled herself to stand at Mireille’s side. Where to first? Wing could not hide her bright and pining curiosity.

her green eyes came to life; an easy smile glittered on her teeth for a second. "well. dis be mossbloom. behin' us be greatpine wildwood," the obsidian said, turning to gesture toward the imposing dark trees on the cliffs above mossbloom.
moving west; "de saltmarsh. cold for now, see it flower in de summer," she promised cherub's wing with a grin. 
corsair beach and mudwallow lowlands; the tangle across the lazy twist of freshwater. mireille explored the briar-sharp edges of the tangle, navigating them for cherub wing. she showed how fallrock still held a minute warmth even in the coldest of days, standing many feet taller than both their heads.
fireblood stand and bluepeace meadow, where she brought them both to rest, to watch flocks of saltbirds wheel across the field and the glintwater lake beyond. "de roja den be dat way, where de ot'ers be healin'. next to it, seaflower respite. a purple place," mireille joked. "but i have saved de bes' for last."
the tunnel to sapphique's hidden coveland.

Mossbloom. Greatpine. Saltmarsh. A beach — Corsair. Mudwallow.

Cherub’s Wing explored every area with a reverent fervor, taking in the winterbound districts through the use of all her senses and committing each place to her ironclad memory. She strayed to and fro, exploring crevices and roots and bare bushes, practically anything that caught her eye.

She carefully followed Mireille along the Tangle’s thorny clutches, while admiring the dark stripe along the obsidian’s sleek spine as they went.

Fallrock. Fireblood. Bluepeace. Glintwater.

Each of these locations took Wing’s breath away. There was a uniqueness to these cliffs that she could not have imagined, for Sapphique was many times more diverse than the lake-hugged peninsula she hailed from and the lands she had covered to make it here. These packlands felt like a dream, like fate laid out before her, and she sighed deeply as she looked out over the lake.

I was born beside a lake like this, she said, wistful.

Roja. Seaflower. A tunnel…

She pressed in close to Mireille as they trotted through a dark hollow. The sound of the surf pulsed along the walls, growing in volume the closer they came to the opening ahead that beckoned them to freedom. Wing closed her eyes as they emerged back into the cold graylight, then opened them to behold the treasure of Sapphique: a secret cove, surrounded by impossibly majestic cliffs and the wild, implacable expanse of the ocean before them.

Cherub’s Wing laughed, shocked by the view. Oh, Mireille, she breathed, turning to look upon her freckled face. She looked back over the beach, her tail fanning. It’s beautiful! The ocean is so different from a lake, she bubbled over the pounding, crashing, whooshing of the waves. It is never still! What makes it move so?

mireille listened to cherub's wing's words; she heard the delight and awe in the other's voice. it satisfied her as a leader, to have brought so much to her companion. "i do not know," she said with an awed tone.
"my mot'er erzulie says it be spirits who live in de ocean. perhaps dey drive de waves. all i know is dat she keeps many secrets, an' she is not always kind."
like a woman. like her, mireille amended.
"what be your favorite place?" her green eyes shone; she could not help but ask.
and she wanted, suddenly, to know more of the lake beside which the fascinating wolf had been born.

She keeps many secrets, and she is not always kind.

Words that Wing would remember for a long time to come. She stared out at the open sea, wonderstruck, with her tail waving in contentment. The sea spirits must be very strong. They never tire, she observed with surety that such things existed. For if Erzulie said it, then it must be true. If there are lake spirts too, then they are lazy. They do not stir unless the wind does! she laughed, turning to Mireille with twinkling, mis-matched eyes.

At the freckled obsidian’s question, Cherub’s Wing tilted her head, thoughtful. Well, I do love Glintwater. I’ll probably spend a lot of time there… It reminded her of the Isle, after all. But I think here, this bay, is the best place in Sapphique. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cold salt air and the promise of sparkling beach days.

But maybe the Stand or Bluepeace will take first place come the warm days, she added playfully. We’ll just have to see.

figured this would be a good fade <3 sorry to rush it closed but i wanted to move to the Next Arc lol

cherub's wing spoke of the sea spirits, of their strength. her eyes sent an unaccustomed glissade through the obsidian. not uncomfortable, not untenable. it simply was and then it was simply away, gathered somewhere inside her and spiraling into dissolvement.
her companion named the other places, but it was for the bay she nodded. "many of us have learned to swim here. perhaps i will teach you."
she thought of her mother, moving gracefully through the icy surf. the image remained as an aspiration of how she could teach the granite to be.
more to say, but a call rose for her now. the red body was elegant, rueful, as mireille stood. "we will go to de bay again. promise," she said with a grin, before turning to answer.

I’ll be happy to learn, Cherub’s Wing smiled. I only know the waters of lakes and rivers, but this… the ocean is not like them. The lake she had been born beside was calm without a storm’s influence and rivers were easy enough to navigate as long as you swam with the current. The sea, however, provided new challenges; it’s waves were not to be trifled with, as she had learned from her near-death experience.

A call rose then, beckoning Mireille away. Ah, the responsibilities of a leader. Of course, Obsidian. I would like that. And then she was alone.