Sunset Valley The Silent Sisters

AW, @Other Shore, @Ishmira, @Caan, @Ghenaya, @Faliya .. backdated to March 15

the soft suckling sounds filled the space around them as he nursed, his tiny form nestled comfortably in her arms. she could feel the warmth of him, the trust he had in her, and it steadied her in the moment.
her focus, however, was split, as her eyes drifted occasionally to ishmira, who lay nearby, her wounds still fresh and needing care. morwenna reached out, her hand gently grazing ishmira’s brow, her touch calm and sure despite the weight of her own exhaustion. the woman’s wounds were deep, but she was strong, and morwenna knew it would take more than this to break her.
gently, she shifted, balancing caan in one arm, while the other went to tend ishmira’s injuries. cleaning the wounds with care, she murmured soft words to her, words of reassurance, of care. she could do this. she had to.
the scent of milk and blood mingled in the air, a quiet reminder of the two lives in her care. but morwenna did not waver. the valley was unforgiving, but she would not falter. not while she had her son in her arms and her pack to protect.
caan’s soft cooing against her chest reminded her why she fought so fiercely. her son, her blood, her future. she would tend to him, and to ishmira, and to anyone else who needed her, no matter the cost.

a sharp hiss through clenched teeth, a delicate whine as morwenna tends to her with the practiced hand of a mother. it burns, it aches, but she knows it is for the better. she remains still beneath the touch, weary eyes following caan with a steady warmth. he is alive. wounded, but his leg will mend with time. he will never know the cruelty of his father.

she looks up through half-lidded eyes, tail thudding once against the earth behind her. the word 'mother' nearly leaves her lips again, jaws moving to form the word, but a sigh leaves her instead. pained, relieved, safe in maternal embrace.

"my father," she manages finally, her breath a gasp. "what of him?"

continuing on from this post!

Other Shore dived out of the forest, her tread still loyal to the scent trail. Now it led down, away, sinking into the earth towards a beautifully carved valley behind the glacier. Nestled in there was a forest teeming with wildlife - and with them was Morwenna.

At once, she knew she was near. She set Ghenaya down for a moment, catching her breath as excitement filtered into her veins. Look, she told the child. Morwenna is there. Your mother is there. A smile cracked upon her face. You will see her soon!

So close! So close!

She picked Ghenaya up and ran. It really was Morwenna's scent! Any doubt she had before suddenly dissipated like snow upon warm fur.

Joy sprung through her chest, and now she went faster, faster now, flying. The scent was strengthening, a reassurance to Other Shore that this journey had not been for nothing.

Other Shore had not believed it in the beginning - but Ghenaya would see her mother again! She would, she would! The pup longed for her, she knew it; longed for the touch of Morwenna, and fate had been kind to see them reunited. She thanked heaven, then every heaven that existed if there was more than one; thanked the earth, too, for guiding her across rolling hills and around deadly marshes and unforgiving forests, for letting her and Ghenaya sleep upon it without danger.

Into the arms of happiness she ran, and happier still as she glimpsed what she thought was a dark shape with a star upon her crown.

Was it fortunate that Ghenaya's eyes and ears had opened merely days before the chaos? She had seen the shapes of giants all around; not quite corporeal due to her young eyes, but these nearly shapeless, gargantuan things with gleaming teeth and storming voices. A shadow had swept in close and with rapidity Ghenaya had been taken.

There was the chaos of shouting voices, of tugging, of pinching, of teeth, teeth, teeth—and then there was the calm after the storm. A woman had been there. She was young, she was pale. She reminded Ghenaya of her brightest brother—and that was soothing to her spirit, although not to the body which she inhabited.

It hurt to be held. Oh, how she cried! Her voice had been withered by the time the starlight woman had come to take her from the storm—but still, Ghenaya hurt, and so she cried in that uncontrollable way inherent to children. Up, and down, and up, and onward—she squirmed at first, punching the air with what strength she retained, or trying to fight for her freedom even from her rescuer, until they slept in the open air.

And when she woke again, exhausted and voiceless and no longer fighting, Ghenaya was hoisted up once again to be carried. The starlight woman was full of vigor which seemed to be sapped from the little girl bundled in her teeth. There was such joy to Other Shore—but something different to Ghenaya, being so thoroughly worn down by it all.

She would not have recognized any of the bodies gathered, not in this state.

Caan and Fa'liya can still join:)!

morwenna had been tending to ishmira carefully, her focus unwavering despite the tension in the air. she was ever aware of the soft sounds of caan, now steady and breathing, his leg mending despite its pain. the weight of her responsibility was heavy, but she carried it with fierce devotion. yet, even as she worked, a flicker of uncertainty gnawed at her.
he is angry, she murmured, hands gentle on ishmira’s scarred form as she worked to soothe her. rightfully so. he will… her words trailed off as a flash of white caught her gaze.
there, just beyond the trees, a familiar shape emerged — other shore, and with her, the smallest figure of ghenaya. morwenna's heart leaped in her chest as her voice broke through the air, an uncontrollable surge of joy in her chest.
my darling! she called, her voice cracking with the weight of love and relief. she quickly moved to meet them, pushing past the ache in her own body as she made her way toward the pair.
the sight of ghenaya, no longer a mere wisp of memory but tangible, solid, and alive, brought warmth rushing through morwenna. she would never forget the pain of losing her, the void left by her absence. and now—now her daughter was here, in her arms again, held tightly and with all the love she had left to give.
morwenna's gaze shifted toward other shore, gratitude shining in her eyes. you have her. the words barely left her lips as she took ghenaya into her arms, the little one nuzzling close, no longer fighting but seeking the comfort of the mother she had lost.
thank you, morwenna whispered, her voice thick with emotion. her heart was full, yet there were no words left to say, only the sound of her heartbeat steadying against ghenaya’s small form.