Ravensblood Forest Spirits

Family only, tag is for reference! I was thinking posting order could be Lorelai > Lennox > Lenora > Luka so we aren't double posting!

It was her first nightmare in quite some time, and Lorelai lay in her den with her whelps. Luka was nowhere to be found, and she wondered if he was off hunting; he'd been doing a good job of keeping her fed. Lennox and Lenora were currently deeply asleep, but she doubted it would be for long, for the poor Mystic began to tremble as she saw what could only be her deceased whelp, Lynette. She had not survived birth, and Lorelai had not had time to properly grieve her. But, here she was, happy and seemingly full of life. This made her recall a conversation she'd had with @Erzulie — the seawoman had told her that she might be seeing and hearing the spirits of the dead, and this... this had to be true. Why else would she be seeing her dead whelp? Quietly, and in a shaking voice, Lorelai asked, "Ly — Lynette? Is that you?"

"Ly-Lynette? Is that you?" Had her mother's voice not roused her, the shakes that took hold of her certainly would have. Puppy-blue eyes flitted open and Lennox blinked several times before looking up at her mother with her ears back in evident concern. "Mum?" her tiny voice broke the nights stillness and she shifted so that she could sit up and follow her mother's gaze into the nothingness before them. "Nobody's there, mama... Are they?"

She woke up to her mother shaking and staring intently at something in the shadowy corner of their family's den; Lenora could feel that something was different, but she couldn't place it. Then, her mother spoke a name she didn't recognize, and Lenora looked from her sister to her mother. Worried that something was wrong, Lenora said, fearfully, "I'm gonna get dad!" She then rushed down the halls of the tunnels, out to the entrance, then gave the best howl she could, calling for their father. Surely he would know what to do.

Luka had taken... much time to himself - both to consider his sister's position, and to consider the position it left him in as well. Ultimately, he knew he could not leave his sister - and so far, the wolves who were surrounding Lorelai had proven trustworthy enough for his liking. He had spent the dusky morning searching for a morsel for his sister, as she certainly needed the nourishment now that she was eating to feed her whelps. The thought still brought a frown to his face... but given that they had their blood in their veins as much as Cruor blood, Luka had a duty to them as much as he did Lorelai. He was wandering back slowly, a fat spring hare dangling from his jaws, when the distinct call of a young wolf reached his ears. Immediately, haste found its way into his paws and he wound the rest of the way through the brush to the cave mouth where he found... Lenora? Yes, that was her name... Waiting with worry etched into her tiny features at the cave entrance. "Lenora, is it your mother? Is it... her dreams again? Quickly, take me to her..." he followed Lenora through the main hallway to his sister's whelping den and made his way in, the hare all but forgotten in the entryway as he pressed his forehead into her neck. "@Lorelai... Lorelai I'm here, talk to me."

Her children were afraid, she realized this as Lenora ran off to call for Luka. She told Lennox softly, "It's your sister I see. She didn't survive your births..." The young Mystic gave a hard swallow. Erzulie had told her to ask her visions why they were there, but she couldn't do that now, as Luka had returned, Lenora in tow. He rushed to her, and she sighed softly, telling him calmly, "It's okay. I'm... I'm not afraid. I see Lynette." Her eyes pricked with tears, but she kept them at bay.

Lorelai turned her gaze from her vision, instead looking at her living daughters. Lenora thrashed in her sleep sometimes, and the Mystic wondered whether she, too, had visions. That would make at least three generations of... what, exactly, Lorelai was not sure. She trusted Erzulie, so for now she would try to see it her way.

"Erzulie taught me much when I was away... She thinks I might be seeing and hearing the spirits of the dead." And it made sense, to her; she'd never had a vision of anyone living. It was always mama, and papa, and now her daughter. She looked to Luka, then, wondering what he thought.

Lennox watched as Lenora scurried off, but stayed close by her mother instead. She followed her dad's far off gaze to the spot where she said she saw their sister, and cooked her little head as if it might help her see the apparition too... "Are you scared, mum? Is it scary to see her?" she asked softly, never once moving her eyes from the empty air I case her sister might appear to her too. It wasn't long before Lenora was back with their daddy in tow, and Lennox's little tail gave a thump as he came rushing in to their sides. "Can anyone see them if they know how, mum?"

Lenora, for once, had little to say; she merely watched and listened, feeling anxious. She had dreamt of her dead sister, once or twice — they had all three been playing, her, Lynette, and Lennox. It had been a nice dream. Quietly, nervously, she said, "I've seen her, too, mama... in my dreams. Does that matter?" Did that mean she could see her sister, too?