Dragoncrest Cliffs moonstone.

It was strange to look down upon her, when all he could remember was to look up. Dacio had grown considerably since his mother's disappearance, having reached a period of rapid growth that came with adolescence - so much that he far surpassed his remaining sister. He'd always been destined to outgrow the females of their family, but he couldn't say that he liked it now that he stood before its matriarch. The simpler times as Goufa were what he most longed for in those breathless moments when he found the unconditional love in the vivid emerald of Portia's gentle eyes staring right back at him.

Her voice beckoned him closer, but he found himself temporarily incapable. To make one wrong step might rouse him, and he felt so desperate to hold onto the sight for as long as the dream would allow. Fear rooted him there on the cliffs, fear that this would be the final opportunity to gaze upon the speckled features of his most beloved parent. Dacio trembled, his joints locked beneath the tension that tightened each muscle on his frame, as he sought the courage to take that first bold stride forward.

At last, his paws carried him closer. He felt as though he floated in her direction, light-headed and dizzy, but the steps did not cease. Everything else around him fell silent and, ears pricked forward keenly, the young Drakru ducked his muzzle and hunched his shoulders to tuck himself snugly into his dam's inviting embrace. Her warmth enveloped him. Dacio breathed out heavily into her fur which he buried his snout roughly amongst, and let his eyelids close over to better savour the closeness that he'd found himself yearning for most in recent weeks.

He remembered what it was like to be small again. He remembered how she'd kiss his brow when the thunder frightened him, how she'd lulled him to sleep on his restless nights. How she was always glad to see him, no matter how badly her leg pained her or how depression had gripped her following Dalia's departure. Dacio had always relied on her to brighten his own day, and could only hope that he'd been capable of providing light she so needed in her own time of heartache - even if it hadn't been enough to keep her.

"I need you," he said, crouching lower in a desperate attempt to press himself closer. "Why'd you have to go?"