Dragoncrest Cliffs de la is also back again

just smacking this in val's threadlog. it's a RO, but single replies welcome if you'd like this in ur threadlog too! all tags are for reference but ofc welcome to join, as always please let me know if PP isn't ok <3

@Ravin and @Theo had decided to try the shores of eresta. a bittersweet farewell for val, tinged with pride for his sisters and brothers north. they would thrive there.

val waved them off with full bellies and quiet concern. he wondered if @Astera felt any particular way about this, and decided he'd find her later for a status check.

he worried. @Suzu had yet to return; the fishing traps she'd set before she left were in disrepair -- a stark reminder her absence was keenly felt in more way than one.

@Mireille nursed the newest lives of sapphique. val felt pride any time he looked upon them. @Jadou grew like a weed. @Shadess jostled for her fair share of milk. @Lucette and @Lafayette he admittedly could not tell apart -- until they moved. he understood that lucette had been quite sickly, and waited for mireille's order should she need anything.

mireille! his heart sang with song for the lives she brought to her breast, and for the life she inspired within him. he brought her what he could in paltry meals; mostly terrestrial fare, but he'd caught @Cayetano once on his way to @Kheviel, and had cajoled from him a rather large fish for the nursing mother. kheviel, he grinned, would have to find dinner elsewhere.

@Chacal grew more gravid each day. val could not be certain, but the glint he caught in @Svalinn's eye spoke of another blessing come to their shore. @Maleah was busy these days, between caring for mireille, preparing for chacal, and chasing off the pesky @Sobeille. between her and @Thibault, val's evenings were often full with hunting, caching, and the occasional border patrol. @Chani was growing into the tall shadow cast by sapphique's mothers; there were times he caught her out of the corner of his eye and almost thought she was rosalyn striding the earth again.

things in sapphique were busy, but never had val's heart been more full.

cayetano finds himself, strangely
settling into sapphique easier than he'd thought.
who knew a little accountability
could be good for him?

there were new lives afoot
he hears their chirps and squeals
the soft mewling that somehow
can crack the hardest heart.

between his rounds and kheviel
he's busy --
but not too busy to avoid val
who comes across him one evening
glistening head to toe
and sporting the fattest fuckin' fish.

he can just imagine kheviel's disbelief
and taste the rich fat and salt;

but that crafty bastard
drew other plans. he says one thing;
mireille --
 cayetano knows his prize is forfeit.

oh well,
other fish in the sea.

just, you know
cayetano kinda wishes
kheviel was there to see it
the heist of the century,
and he, the improbable guy fleeced.

Sapphique grew. 

Once, Astera would have planned to forfeit the shores to explore. Explore and see! See all. See the valleys, and mountains. The deserts and swamps. Over time, that dream faded. She discovered that there was much to be found in the waves. Why move on, when there was an endless field to realize in front of her. In her heart, she discovered that she didn't wish to leave.

She screened the beaches for crabs, fish, and squid, the cliffs for rodents and the likes. Most of her findings were brought to Mireille, and the new pups, their eyes barely opened. 

Maman was having pups! Astera could hardly contain her excitement.

Between finding food and running through the waves, she spent her days with Sobeille and Chani. Ravin was gone, off to new horizons in Eresta. It was somewhat painful, but she wished him luck wherever the wind took him. 

Svalinn, to proud for his own good, along with the newcomer, Cayetano, became subjects of her pranks and harassment. 

Never had she felt so sound.

Let me know if any PP needs changing! :)