Ouroboros Spine To hold you again

The bliss of their reunion filled Angel with equal parts excitement and peace; she followed her mother back to their den, allowing her to carry the abalone shell while Angel carried the rest in their bundle. These things were dropped carelessly on the ground once she reached home.

"Is Rosie nearby?" she asked, catching the scent of one of her sisters most strongly. She didn't wait to hear the answer before she started in on her first story —

"I saw where Grandmother lives, and I met her children. Some of them are just my age! And so many of their cousins. I can't believe how many!"

She did a little shuffle and spin.

"I learned some of their dances, and some of their stories — and I just kept thinking that I wished you all were there, or that I couldn't wait to come home and show you."

She spun back into Raindrop's arms, crashing gently into her chest. She was too big to curl up there, now, but she only wanted to lean dramatically into her.

"Did your family sing and dance a lot, Mama?" she asked, intent on getting answers to all the things she'd wondered about on the road. "I wish..." She wished that her father was here, but on second thought, she did not want to bring him up at this time. "I wish I'd gotten to meet them," was what she said instead, forcing her tone into wistfulness rather than melancholy.