Ouroboros Spine verses

Lótë was similarly delighted, as evidenced by her toothy grin of pride. All of her children seemed to have enjoyed the art sessions as cubs but none had developed a keen interest in paint the way the doe had. The cloudberry was ecstatic to think she might have found someone to pass the process of mixing and using the media to. 

With an indulgent chuckle, Lótë retrieved a few more skulls -- which she had found were quite handy for storing paint over the years. Not all were sourced from raccoons but the smaller, rounder bones of small mammals, as well as turtle shells and the like, worked better than the narrow and thin craniums of grazing mammals. 

There was a variety of hues to present: a rich blue, almost indigo, from blueberries, yellow ochre and dandelion fuzz, the burnt orange of gummy clay, black earth. If Lótë had had the means to gather or grind chalk or lime from stone, she might've even had white paint to offer. As it was, the artist had yet to discover a way to create an ivory paste -- though she had been experimenting with pale flowers to no avail. 

Arranging the different hues before Callyope, Lótë settled in next to her and began to add small details along a primitive mural that depicted one of many stories from her homeland. Occasionally, she glanced subtly at the little rusted singer to see what she might create.