Lion Head Mesa Eien ni Tomodachi

The new mother slept.

Hormones flooding her system; she thought only of those little bodies snuggled against her breast and when the dream came, she was lost to it.

The desert of Akashingo bathed in warm red light, dazzling, everything faded.

Satsu, alone, striding from the edge of the palace. Her path dances, winding to a riverside decorated with reeds. The light catches through them, transitioning gold.

A wind breathes, sighing with her. Two cotton-headed reeds split, showing white. As she touches them they come apart and fly away, with pieces touching the river and drifting...

When she awakens, it is morning. Her daughters are struggling and Satsu immediately touches them, loving and careful, though her eyes seek Tavina - worried.

Ashikaga, she hums over one; Makono, shhhh... My little reeds of the river... kissing them, deftly moving them to where they may latch and eat, heart fluttering.