Ouroboros Spine Sweet Summer pie

shikoba adored her children, certainly, this was evident in how she spoke to and of them, as well as how often she loved to spend time with them. but her little daughter held a special place in her heart.

she was so different from shikoba when she was of that age, so quiet and shy, yet perhaps with the biggest heart out of anything she will know. there is a thrum of pride shikoba feels for knowing she has brought such a delicate flower into the world.

"the rivers are sacred to us," she comes to tell her softly, "we give them offerings for the well-being of our families." this river was certainly not of the traditional 4 that shikoba knew of, but all the rivers brought life into the earth, and she would not be daft to ignore this fact. "the mountains whisper too if you can listen to them closely."

life teemed around this in spring and summer, and eventually, these voices of their ancestors may grow quiet as the colder days draw in. but ajei would learn all of these things the more she grew beside her mother, as her brother had once done before her. "what have you been doing, my ajei? have you been finding your place within our village?"