Dragoncrest Cliffs Cordelia

all tagged are invited! No need to wait for me to reply as Chacal, I’ll chuck in her reply at some point :) no posting order, free madness!

Suzu could not shake the feeling of being watched. 

She remained with @Lafayette and @Lucette as was @Mireille’s request, watching with faltering hope every time @Etienne listened for the sound of rattling on their feeble breaths. Her mother came around to see the children and comfort her sister. It was not the first time their children had been pulled from the ocean- the fear she’d seen in @Val’s eyes was validated, now. She could only hope that the children survived this latest near-drowning experience.

Within her own chest, her heart was restless and beat erratically. Its throbbing did not cease even when she tried to summon the courage to speak to her family, and she swallowed the words down with an audible gulp. 

A little flutter deep in her belly made her squint slightly. It was not the first time she had felt it- but she knew at once that it was not typical indigestion. 

(She ate enough seafood to know the difference between indigestion, food poisoning and gas. This was none of the above.)

Like little fish learning how to swim, the flutters awakened her instincts. 

”Maman,” she croaked tearfully; speaking for all the others in the room to hear as well- as it was not a secret she wished to keep from them. Not when she felt the little fish stir. ”I cannot ‘ave dese children.” 

A sob caught in her throat. She inhaled sharply. 

”Not ‘ere. Not where de waves will rip dem away from me.” 

She had loved the ocean- and it had brought to her many bounties, adventures, and a free-spiritedness that had made her the woman that she was. But the ocean was full of ghosts, too- memories of battles, of children being dragged out of her depths, of graves where the mounds had begun to settle and flowers to grow. 

She spoke with a burning spite for the home she had loved so much. No more would she watch as her siblings, niblings or any others paid the price that the ocean demanded.