Dragoncrest Cliffs throwing off his purple cloak

When tears beaded the edges of her mother’s eyes, Chacal saw pride, but also a wistfulness, she thought. Time had passed, and when she looked, she could see it in the subtle changes of her Maman’s features. She could see it in the  way Rosalyn’s eyes occasionally lost their sparkle, and her gaze became distant. 

In part, she feared these changes as they heralded the passing of time, and made the aging of her parents all the more tangible. Live forever, she begged silently, her own eyes brimming with tears. The corner of her lip wriggled but she bit it to still it. Erzulie was stepping down, but she was still healthy…Surely, with less stress and obligations, her mothers would live longer, happier like this. 

She couldn’t dwell on those thoughts, or she’d cry. 

She inhaled deeply to try and get rid of the burning in her chest. It was a relief to see her mother so pleased with her decisions; she would always care what Erzulie and Rosalyn thought, which she realized might weigh on her decisions…But she knew if she followed her heart, and was true to Sapphique, she wouldn’t disappoint them. 

”Per’aps,” She agreed, with reference to Loko. Chacal loved all of her siblings, and hoped that these choices would not come across as preferential treatment, but that might be something she would have to address again someday. At some point, she too would have to choose who would follow in her paw steps- and she knew by then, the choices would be many. The thought made her smile faintly, though the smile faded. She, too, had many siblings- but not many had stayed, narrowing her mother’s choices. She could only hope that her own children stayed closer to home. 

”’Ow do you feel, about all of dis? An’ about…Mot’er?” She asked, shifting the topic slightly.