Dragoncrest Cliffs is the fairest thing on the black earth,

admittedly, erzulie was unsure of how to approach the situation collectively. how she had ranked chacal low not due to ability but from fear, how she wanted to protect her youngest for as long as was possible. their gold-dust little one was not so anymore; she had grown into a full age, and the harlot saw in her seeking she had made chacal a baby within her own mind.
inner jaw bitten thoughtfully. she hated to see her daughter struggle so, and to know she had been the cause of it. and so she came closer, cinnamon muzzle tentatively reaching toward the girl as she settled again with a tight breath.
"after we los' valravn. rav," she murmured, unable to summon a smile but wishing to ensure that chacal understood she had been heard; "after dat, i t'ink i — grew too protective over you. an' then regin, an' now solaire. arcelia." nieve. reyes. scarab. marisol. "it is not because of who you are dat i have done dis. it be because of my own fears."
rosalyn was no less loving than she, but each of the wives chose their parenting as they had always done. 
"i do not want to lose you too, is all."
a sigh, a shaking out of her spiced ruff. "valravn and you bot' were put out by what happened. you wanted to be dere. he did not. each of you left in de end. it tells me you were not going to respect de decision made by de sea, an' dat your brot'er should not have been chosen to swim. dis despite my feeling dat it would have been better for him to know how harsh de sea can be first, rat'er than maintain his dislike of it. we fear what we do not know."
"an' it tells me dat despite de choice behind my ranking, neit'er of you were ready to be ruby." her voice was soft, devoid of chiding in its explanatory nature. would chacal understand? it was both a mistake she had made, and a necessity. rosalyn was better poised to explain the latter, and she was long-winded in the former. "we be all of us a family toget'er, chacal. merlin an' njord as well. and each of us must swim in any waters; we must learn what it is to be by de ocean. including valravn."
she stopped, for now, mintglow eyes seeking the expressive features of her daughter.