Ouroboros Spine even now you mark my steps

The nightmares dogged her every step.

It was difficult to sleep anyway, but the flaming visions she received at night did little to help. Dark circles ringed her eyes, and she spent her day trying not to fall asleep.

She lost the battle around midafternoon, sprawled in the field outside Three Sisters, where she had been taking the scenic route back to the repose. Her sides rose and fell in rhythm, but the furrow to her brow did not speak of rest, not the flexing of her paws.

He'd left the children with Kukutux for a time, following a bad feeling he'd had about Vairë. And, sure enough, he found her... Passed out? Napping? He almost wanted to leave her to her rest, but instead, he hovered nearby to shade her eyes from the sun. Watching her, however, he found himself unable to relax. She moved even in her sleep, and he knew her rest could not be complete.

"Vairë?" he called, his voice soft but gruff with worry. "You alright there, babydoll?"

He worried she was getting sick. She worked to hard! She needed more rest, he thought, and for the very first time, he was of a mind to try and order her to do something.

Her reaction was very slow at first. Than very fast.

She erupted from the ground into a half sit, legs sprawled out in front of her. Her knees quivered, and she had to take a moment to swallow against the sudden vertigo. She had sat up too fast.

Valiant. She croaked with what she hoped was a smile and not a grimace.

I am…just. I am alright. The lie tasted acidic in her mouth and she turned her gaze away, taking a moment to assemble her limbs.

She got up — which was an improvement. Still not quite good enough for him. His stomach twisted to see her so out of sorts, and then so defensive. He could taste the lie just as well as if she'd kissed him. He gave a calm, tacit little nod of acknowledgement, but what he said then was,

"You ain't, though."

Not arguing! He believed firmly that both things could be true! He could pretend with her — as long as she pretended with him, too. If they could humor each other, they'd be alright.

He prayed she would humor him, today.

"You ain't been sleepin' too well," he hazarded. He'd noticed it a couple nights, but he hadn't put two and two together until now. He felt guilty then for letting things get this way. He should've taken better care of her!

In response, she cursed beneath her breath, then acquiesced with a tiny nod. She wasn’t the sort to blow up in a fit about being called out, even with the brimstone rage she found herself wielding.

I..am less alright than I claim to be. Vairë sighed out her words half into a palm over her nose, sliding down her face until moondoe was staring at her own cracked pawpads.

I. I have dreams. Maybe nightmares, maybe visions. I haven’t. I haven’t thought to bring them up to anaa, I’ve been so busy, I- Between her sister’s children growing more distant, her sister’s leavings, and everything else, Vairë found little comfort in idleness. There was a brief, bitter burst in her belly, tart on her tongue, that Ariadne was out gallivanting while she was here, tending to the village and her children and her sister’s children when allowed, but she smothered the notion before it even took shape. Her sister was having a difficult time, she knew, and it would be unfair to bring her own feelings into it.

The anger, however, had found a fuel made of the bitterness, and the tiniest spark had caught.

nantahala was on a mission.
something was horribly wrong with her little family. first, a new group of kids showed up and had not seemed to have left (which nantahala hadn't minded, especially not when she found out one of them was her friend nutu). but then, there was arguing, and shouting, and now everyone was looking at each other with big, sad eyes all the time. she did not understand!
aaka was, too, bogged down by this tension that seemed to plague the morningsides. so nantahala devised a plan — she was going to bring her a gift! that had to make her smile.
this afternoon, she'd toddled away from the ulax hot on the trail of her father; and in her jaws was a mysteriously-vague bone. or perhaps it was an antler. she didn't know, but she thought it was cool, and so she assumed aaka would, too.
she dragged it all the way down the trail, thinking herself to be so stealthy as she snuck around tall trees and wide bushes. the pads of her feet hurt by the time she caught up to the pair, and she was breathing through her mouth rather melodramatically.
she boldly interrupts their conversation by dropping the bone with a loud thud at the twitching feet of aaka, looking up to aapa with bright blue eyes that sought approval. her tail propelled itself behind her, swinging in wide, excited sweeps.

His brow furrowed in concern. Dreams and nightmares were bad enough, but visions raised the hair at the back of his neck. "Visions of what?" he asked, hoping to help get to the bottom of this. Before Vaire could answer, however, their daughter was between them. The sight of her filled him with the usual rush of panicked adoration (She was so small and cute! She was so small and vulnerable!) — but he pushed past that to praise her:

"Did you bring that for anaa?" he asked her, ducking down to press a kiss to her brow and thinking, achingly, that it would not be long before he didn't have to lean down at all.

He looked back to his wife, worried that these were not visions that could be discussed in front of their children. Would they resume this conversation at a later date? He felt strongly that they ought to have it right now.