Dragoncrest Cliffs for me this and love for the sun

everyone in sapphique is trusted enough to be close to the den, so AW <3

erzulie blinked herself awake. @Aminthe lay nearer her thighs, @Quennell closer at hand. the obsidian took some moments to nudge them both together at her teats, and then lay her chin upon the threshold of the roja den.
she had only an inkling of what was transpiring in sapphique. erzulie expected that upon emerging from the den, she might find njord a father again, properly with a wife.
this brought thoughts of her boys, and she smiled. 
she was tired and yet alert this day, watching for any movement beyond the den's edges.

Meerkat arrived at the Obsidian’s whelping den and gently set her gift at her feet. Of all the things to find strewn on the beach, she had lucked across a freshly dead baby shark washed up in the morning tide. She had spent the past few hours gathering wildflowers and then delicately stuffing the dead shark so that its mouth and gills bristled with blossoms.

Erzulie…? she called softly, shifting her weight a bit, acutely aware of the soft swell of her own flanks.

just a cameo for now <3

The nudge of a cold, wet nose woke the tiny girl from her peaceful slumber. At first she complained loudly, upset that someone had dared wake her. But she realized almost instantly that it was her mother; at the same time, she felt her stomach bubble with hunger. Who knows how long she might have slept if Erzulie hadn't been on top of things. Aminthe was in no condition to be missing meals. 

She was guided to food and pressed against her brother, and she needed no other coaxing. The sea star latched and began to eat. Like every day of her life before now, she would fill herself almost to bursting and then she would pass out again. It was a good life.

meerkat, gentle and with scent tinged in a familiar change. the obsidian's mouth curved slightly and she thumped her tail against the den's interior, inviting the young woman closer. erzulie could smell from here the sharp salt and florals of whatever meerkat had brought.
her body hungered at once, for the creation of milk was quite consuming indeed.
her children ate greedily.

Upon hearing the welcoming tap, Meerkat gently plucked up her gift and moved to peek into the den’s doorway. As her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she set the present on the ground and nosed it toward Erzulie. Her attention drifted to the two tiny bundles of joy nestled up against her breast.

They both looked a bit like Njord and their older brothers. Meerkat caught herself wondering again who had fathered them, though of course that was none of her business whatsoever. Despite the resemblance, she knew Njord was not their da, though she did hope the newborns’ mothers would allow them to play the role of aunt and uncle.

She’d spent enough time around Towhee’s litter last year to know they couldn’t see or hear yet, though Meerkat still said, Hello, babies. Tail waving, she redirected her eyes to Erzulie, noting the tired but happy look on her face. Motherhood looked lovely on her. Congratulations again. I know everybody asks this but… how are you feeling? Can I do anything for you?

"oh, i am tired," erzulie answered with honesty. "i t'ink i have more help dis year den any ot'er." her mouth was a soft bow. "you will be next, it seems." there was a pang that happened then: the seawife would have liked very much for chacal to have followed her, but the goldblack girl was not yet to that age.
she must be patient and see if her older child might take the reins from her, the eternal gift of children each year into the coastal waters.
"what you can do for me is be easy wid yourself." the woman's eyes were half-lidded. she moved to nose across the shark with an audible hum of interest, grinning silently at the wildflowers which stuck out from all sides. "dis be beautiful, meerkat. t'ank you."

She nodded her understanding. Meerkat remembered how demanding newborns could be, after helping her mother rear her younger siblings. Two seemed a bit more manageable than four. She found herself hoping for a smaller litter of her own, though of course no one had any control over that save for nature itself.

You’re welcome, she said, adding, I can do that. Meerkat appreciated the blessing inherent in Erzulie’s comment. If you have any other advice for a new mother, I’m all ears.

She’d assisted Towhee last year. And Njord and the rest of the pack would support her as they did their leader. But only Meerkat herself could carry, labor, deliver and nurse the pups, and she knew Erzulie possessed a wealth of experience and wisdom in these regards.

the children were beginning to be lulled by their devouring. erzulie tucked them against one another and lay her plume across their silken backs. "njord will help you as much as he is able, but de res' of it be your own to do, meerkat," she said first, unwittingly circling into the younger woman's same thought.
"i will be close when it is time. call for me an' i will come to you. de days after a birt' be hard. your breasts will ache an' you might weep, for no reason dat is apparent."
a chaotic, beautiful, changeling time.
"but if de sadness continue, speak about it. some mot'ers suffer alone in dis sadness. not so in sapphique." meerkat was one of their women now; it did not matter if she had been born elsewhere.

It didn’t surprise her when Erzulie offered to be her midwife, though Meerkat was no less touched, especially when the Obsidian went on to mention postpartum support. The breath she drew in was slightly shaky as she tried to think of how to reply to such kindness. It was doubly appreciated in consideration of how some of the Obsidian’s older children felt toward her.

Thank you, Erzulie. Your support means a lot to me.

In fact, there were tears now pricking the corners of her eyes. Meerkat drew in another, decidedly wetter breath and tipped her head toward the den’s ceiling. She reached up to swipe at the tears with the back of her paw before they could trickle down her pale cheekbones.

After regaining control of herself, Meerkat said, Sorry, it’s just that you’ve been nothing but wonderful from the start and I don’t ever want to take that for granted. You’re an incredible leader and role model, particularly in this, and she gestured a damp wrist toward the contented newborns squirming at Erzulie’s breast.

meerkat wept. erzulie clucked her tongue and moved to offer the younger woman a half-embrace. "i know it has been hard to settle here. t'ings — be arranged differently in sapphique." ironically, erzulie had never seen this as a deterrent; she had only seen the ways in which aligning with matriarchy had spelled consistency these past years.
meerkat's praise received a gentle look. "i just learned how to educate myself. an' i have wisdom to give now." it was the counterpoint of growing old. she did not want what felt like reverence. but she did not turn the other away now.
"you be a woman in sapphique, meerkat. t'ere be no ot'er place you can come into your own power like you are able here."

Guilt gnawed at her when Erzulie shuffled to embrace her. Meerkat quickly dipped to make herself more accessible, so the Obsidian wouldn’t disturb her nursing pups. Her lip quivered at the show of affection, though she sniffed back any more tears, focusing on the words her superior whispered in her ears.

Drawing back to look the other woman in the eye, with respect to her authority, Meerkat had to wonder what Erzulie meant by that. She had never aspired for power. All she wanted was to be accepted as part of the family here. She hoped her children would be too, especially because of their da.

That made her think of a fear she had not voiced. Meerkat took a breath and said, I think becoming a mother will be a powerful experience. I’m so grateful you gave Njord your blessing. I hope I have it too. Her heart lodged in her throat.

"you have it," she assured. the younger woman was emotional, unsure of her place here. and erzulie understood: her children had been less than welcoming to the new intended of their father. "it be one of de mos' indescribable t'ings you will ever experience in your life, meerkat. but you do not need to be alone."
the mention of njord had tipped her mouth into a wan, unreadable smile. there was no jealousy in erzulie, no resistance, no loathing. she was pleased for them both.
but he had given her beautiful cubs. she would have liked him to do the same again.
it was beyond time for regrets.

“You have it,” Erzulie assured her and Meerkat’s breath caught in her throat. She struggled against a fresh urge to cry, musing about the mention of postpartum weeping. Evidently, Meerkat suffered from the prenatal variety, although she thought she would feel just as emotional regardless of her hormones.

Clasping the Obsidian’s nearer paw, Meerkat could only breathe a quiet, Thank you. She wanted to say more, yet words did not come. She just hoped that Erzulie could pick up on the indescribable immensity of her gratitude.

That made her think of the gifted shark. She slipped her paw from the other woman’s to nudge it closer to her. You should eat. And rest. I’ll be by again soon. Every day, if you’ll let me.

erzulie marvelled at herself. in years past she might have seen meerkat's approach as premature. one of the seawives would have sent her off, and roughly. the fact that she carried children would have been reason to put her out as well. 
so many things had changed.
and this was good in her mind, reflective of her pack's adaptability. 
erzulie's face warmed with a tired smile. she pulled the shark close and tucked it into a cool corner of the den.
"every day."
it was an agreement. her jaws split with a yawn and she lay her head down, too drained to insist that they continue their pleasantries. the obsidian would slumber wakefully beneath meerkat's watchful eye.