Northstar Vale When's the last time you saw a damn bear in Scranton?

As Arielle woke up and chirped, Lilitu turned toward her—only to feel a sense of disappointment as the girl's own eyes seemed to still be closed. By choice? She licked her sister's face all over, trying to coax sight out of her. This was too cool for Arielle not to experience it, too.

But the lids remained shut, much to her displeasure, and she frowned, before giving her sister a comforting lap of a tongue over her still-floppy ears and moving on to look at her mother. She clambered over long, slim legs, trying to face Ibis head-on.

Her sight was still murky, not yet what it would be. Ibis took a little while to come into focus—

And when she did, Lilitu saw for a split second a different face. A smaller (more youthful, unknown to her) face. Much different from the longer, wiser face that appeared when she blinked, shaking her head in confusion.

Wait. She'd seen this face before. Right? There was no other explanation for the bolt of familiarity that coursed through her at the sight of her mother. Her face was as familiar as her belly, her teats, her tongue. . .

Lilitu sat back on her haunches, staring at her mother with a furrowed brow.