Dragoncrest Cliffs butterfly wings

"mmm."
the sound was low-pitched and brown-sugar sweet.
"maybe it was de spirits. what we call majik. forces beyond our t'oughts." her eyes were soft.
"my son sobo wants to know about de loa."
erzulie grinned and pulled away, pushing debris and snow from a small space along the shore. clawmarks ensued; the rough shape of a veve took shape.
"we say loa but de original sound is lwa." she said it twice more, pausing each time for sobo to listen. "dere be hundreds of lwa. all dese names be sacred but not all of dem be known."
"dis be a veve. each lwa be havin' dey own veve. you draw dem before a ritual. dese marks are dey representative for de lwa you be wantin' to speak wit."
"dis one be for de lwa of femininity. water. erzulie be her name."
a grin, a chuckle.
she drew another veve. "dis be for de one called damballah. sky father. sky serpent. first creator. you speak to him wit de voice of a snake."
"often erzulie only be comin' to women. an' damballah only be comin' to men. de lwa are divided by energies. but to speak at all, you be needin' to know bot.'"