Dragoncrest Cliffs idontwannabeyouanymore

day after day after day dalia had heard again and again the same words from her mother. 'dalia,' she always said, 'you're so beautiful, anyone in the world is jealous of you.' or 'dalia,' she'd say, 'you're so smart, so graceful, i'm so lucky to have you as a daughter.' 

but why? when she was younger dalia absorbed the praise and walked around the territory glowing. she was the favorite child, she was beautiful and graceful and had all the right traits to be a lady, just like portia. but the more she grew up and the more her cousins grew up the more she realized that... she was not nearly as special as her mother told her. her siblings were strong, independent, and they all had experience with relationships. she'd mentioned this concern once or twice to portia, who reminded her that she was not defined by those who loved her, and it helped in the moment but... what did portia know about being unloved? dio was with her every night and through every day. portia had never known lonliness, dalia was convinced, and so when she had become frustrated enough, she cast aside her mother's reassurances and moved to a more appropriate teenage angst. 

dalia had basked in false praise her entire life-- at least, that's the conclusion she'd come too-- and now was merely a pretty face with a paper thin personality. that must've been why she was so lonely, why her cousins and packmates treated her so passively. she was nothing special. even sirio, the family failure, had a bigger name around the pack than her. 

why was this?

having nothing to do, not really, anyway, dalia wandered to the beach, hoping that perhaps she could find something new for her collection. it was early, the sun had just broken over the horizon and it's pinks and oranges cascaded over the breaking waves. dalia stared at it quietly for a while before she took to the cold water that lapped up onto the shore, padding through slowly, step by step, searching for something worthwhile.

maybe one day there will be a crisis, and the only thing that could save them was the pile of seaglass and shells she'd collected. maybe then she'd be able to prove her worth.