Dragoncrest Cliffs Snapdragons

@erzulie @rosalyn @aminthe @quennell hoping to have this set a bit after the birth, a day or so. Can be assumed Chacal has been patrolling. 

Like a gift left upon the shore, Chacal had found a few sea urchins ripe to be harvested. She gathered a few strands of kelp and lay them out, and once she had cracked open the urchins she spilled their precious eggs onto the kelp. As a gift, she carried her parcel carefully as she headed toward the den. 

She was sure her mothers were likely exhausted. She could smell that others had crowded around not long ago; her siblings, Meerkat and Njord had come by. She felt a pant of jealousy, knowing they’d all been close enough, and free of duties, to go and congratulate Erzulie first. Ruefully, she felt it might have been more considerate of both Meerkat and Njord to allow the family to greet the children before going themselves. Njord, perhaps, could have been sent off on a patrol to relieve Chacal. A small grudge blossomed within her. It would have been nice if someone had called out, and told her they’d relieve her of her patrol so that she could be with her mothers. 

Too late now. She had obligations, sure, but she wouldn’t allow those obligations to keep her away from her family. 

She knew her siblings would be lingering close by, standing guard, and she was proud of them for stepping in to provide a bit more protection, should Erzulie or Rosalyn want to step out for a bit.

She paused outside the den. Meerkat’s scent was still fresh, and she lifted her lip slightly. The grudge she harboured coiled like a snake. She did her best to take it. She placed the bundle of kelp-wrapped urchin eggs on the ground and woofed slightly, hoping she might get the chance to meet her siblings now.

chacal.
erzulie opened her eyes. her tail struck the den's inside as she had done with meerkat. she could see the tanzanite's shadow falling across the ground outside, and inched forward toward the entrance with a low croon. 
"dey be awake for now," she revealed, lifting her foreleg. aminthe clung doggedly to a nipple whilst quennell bobbed his head to and fro, searching for whatever scent chacal had brought into the den.
"aminthe." she touched the soft little head. "an' quennell."
a brother. a sister. both perfect. she did not discuss the third.
erzulie searched for chacal's face in the semi-dark, wondering what the young woman would make of it all. the rich smell of sea urchin eggs lingered. her stomach tightened with hunger. this time it felt she was three times as ravenous.
she did not sense her daughter's turmoil.

She was beckoned, but waited a moment as she heard the quiet shuffle of her mother’s feet. She felt the weariness of her soul and it’s troubles melt away, smoothed like silk ribbon under a careful hand when she heard her mother’s voice. She moved inside, carrying her parcel, and her eyes adjusted just as the babes were introduced.

They were earth-toned, small and soft. Her eyes glistened. She wanted immediately to caress them with her muzzle to feel the velveteen of their fur. She uttered a soft whine, and set the bundle of kelp down for Erzulie. She nudged it toward her mother, and lay down so she could see the pups from their level. 

”So soft, aye?” She sung. ”Maman, Dey be perfect.”

it was on the tip of erzulie's tongue to ask if chacal wanted to be a mother this year.
her daughter had not evinced the want before, but these next months marked the beginning of her true foray into womanhood. silently the obsidian wondered how she might feel when the time came for chacal, or even how rosalyn would react. they had handed their daughter the reins of leadership, but to have her come into her own would remind them both of their age.
she chose not to worry, fixing her eyes upon chacal's striking features and watching how she moved closer.
"so soft. touch dem an' see," she invited. "dey should know you from de firs' day as well, chacal."
something was shifting, thorny and unseen, around njord and his bride. but erzulie did not know it. and she would not have known what to do had she felt the truth of it dawning around her.
the woman moved to investigate the kelp with its rich gift tucked inside. her smile was immediate, genuine, knowing.

Carefully, she wriggled forward until she too was pressed to her mother’s side, resting with her shoulder near her mother’s flank. She ran her muzzle first, gently, along her mother’s side, trailing down toward where the pups lay tucked at her side. She felt grateful for the strength of her mother’s womb for having carried and delivered another litter of pups. There was something sacred and revered about motherhood, and she felt she owed respect and gratitude to the vessel that had brought new life into the world, year after year. 

Her jaw chattered slightly when she felt the softness of Quennell’s fur. Like dove down, or the fur of a fawn, so fine and soft. Aminthe, too, was soft as a brand new flower petal. Their scent made her want to bathe them, so she could continue to breathe in their newness, and she smoothed her tongue over each of them with a loving gentleness. 

So small, so frail- but with a world of potential. Chacal’s heart felt fit to burst. Her eyes welled up, and something heavy caught in her throat. ”Maman,” she croaked, her lips trembling. She laughed softly, at her emotional response and lifted a forelimb to wipe the moisture from her eyes. ”I love dem so,” She murmured softly.

chacal was weeping, and somehow it sparked her mother's own tears. "so odd, so beautiful, to have you here along wit de lates'. it reminds me dat i have been a mot'er for so long, an' happy to be one." she reached to kiss the shining jetstone cheek, sighing gently as she leaned back to rest.
for a long time she said nothing, content in completion to lay alongside chacal as the young woman interacted with her baby brother and sister.
i love dem so
delighted tears stood in erzulie's eyes. she listened to the sea move along the cliffs; she caught the tang of salt in the wind, and her jaws split into a comfortable yawn, a smile that spun gold back to her sun-capped daughter.
"you be a fine tanzanite."

With a pang of regret, Chacal sensed a sliver of grief in her mother’s words. She had not been present for the earliest days of her last litters of siblings- and her older siblings were also mostly scattered to the wind or lost to premature deaths. How many months had passed now, since she had seen her sister, and Val? She tried not to allow this thought to reach her eyes, which shimmered slightly already. It was likely natural for larger families to disperse more than smaller ones- but she regretted making the decision to travel, the previous year, now that she realized, with a bit more empathy, how it must feel to bring new life into the world and yet pine still for those who came before.

She was here now, though. She had much to do in order to prove herself to her younger siblings, but perhaps leading with her mother, and stepping in to help with this newest generation might serve as some sort of penance. 

”You are a good mot’er, Maman. I am lucky; we all are,” she crooned softly. She knew not all wolves had the opportunity to grow up with such loving parents. And now, Rosalyn and Erzulie had another generation of young to love and guide, and even if she was the only representation from her own generation, she would do what she could for them. 

Her mother offered words of praise, and she felt a glowing, warm pain in her cheeks. ”I am doing de best I can, de way you show me.”

erzulie reached for chacal with a purling sound. "i am blessed to have such a good daughter to mentor." perhaps their thoughts passed in the proverbial night, metaphorical ships that touched just the edges of the old pain erzulie carried inside herself for nieve and scarab. nieve had never returned. marisol had disappeared. and scarab had been so changed when he did return from seeming death. solaire was dispersed. reyes had begun his own family. clementine and arcelia had devoted themselves to sapphique.
but — valravn, gone. regin, gone. raleska, gone. 
she blinked quietly. she thought of them all.
"dis year mireille be a year." her paws touched gently around the babes, adjusting them.
"i want her to stand beside you when dat time comes."

*forgets about NPCs* my bad Hahaa! I edited my post slightly to reflect the fact Clem and Arcelia are still around :) oversight on my part!

While she felt she was doing an adequate job of being a part of the leadership, she still looked for reassurance from her mothers wherever she could find it. She was sensitive to correction, and perhaps a bit paranoid that she might disappoint them. 

She knew the year ahead would likely be tumultuous- in the wake of Coraline’s attack, and the arrival of other packs along the coast, she was left expecting things to change. Her judgement would be put on trial, and she knew that some day, she would not simply be able to defer to her mothers or ask them for their opinion and input. She would glean from them whatever she could, though it seemed like it might not ever be enough. She feared their inevitable absence more than anything else in the world but if nothing else, it at least made her appreciate them all the more. 

It had been in her mind to ask Erzulie and Rosalyn who they might choose to have join her as a leader. Her mothers had weathered motherhood and leadership simultaneously in the past, but it didn’t surprise Chacal to hear that Erzulie, too, seemed to be thinking of the future, and who should be at the helm of the pack. 

”I would be honoured,” She said. ”I was wonderin’ which of dem you might suggest. I’ve been thinking…When de day comes, to have one of dem be a leader too. Do you know what be deir thoughts on de matter? Do either of de boys have eyes for leadership, you think?” She wasn’t sure, entirely, if any of them had been hoping to be chosen, or if selecting one might cause tension amidst them.

ahhh no worries :D i only ref them occasionally myself <3

as much as she adored her sons, erzulie had not considered them for leadership ever before. it was because historically they departed, and as with reyes, began families of their own. but this time it was different. both sobo and loko were as devoted to sapphique as any other, though if she had to suspect either of them of restlessness it would be loko.
erzulie was quiet perhaps longer than was necessary as she thought. little quennell stirred and she was reminded that this conversation was for him also. "neit'er of dem have asked about it. sobo is devoted to his healin' an' spiritual studies. an' loko is becoming quite de hunter. mireille has always felt older den all of dem. maybe dat is it."
she breathed in, flicking her tail. "maybe anot'er year, an' you will find dey ask after it." another pause, her two-toned eyes on chacal now. "i am afraid, however, dat elevatin' mireille over coraline might cause — upset."
another small problem for chacal to whittle out, though this one had the pronounced nuance of being between sisters.

She was relieved to hear that perhaps Loko and adobo might not be competitive over rank. She realized perhaps that because she often egged Loko into play fights or competitions, she’d assumed he might be more competitive when in fact perhaps he simply liked to play. She liked the dynamic they shared, where they were able to share in youthful, playful moments together. 

One of the pups stirred, and Chacal smiled. It was hard to concentrate on pack business matters when they babes were so sweet and young and soft. She could easily have lost all interest in their conversation in that quiet lull while her mother contemplated, as she was content simply to watch her youngest siblings nurse. 

But when Erzulie’s gaze sought hers, she looked up. Her ears flicked forward as Coraline’s name was mentioned. Coraline’s name elicited a response in Chacal that she hid as well as she could. She still wanted to find out who had attacked her sister, and make them pay for it. She had perhaps dismissed the idea of having Coraline’s as a leader so that she might have time to heal- both physically and emotionally. But, perhaps Coraline herself would be the better judge of that. 

”I t’ink it might be somet’in we talk to den each about, privately. See if Dey ‘ave interest, any ambition. See if Dey ‘ave suggestions, if Dey demself do not want leadership.” She said. Her smile was lightly ashamed. ”I t’ink mebbe it be best if you speak to Coraline…I feel like I may know her de least of dat litter.”

erzulie nodded. "i can ask her." truth be told she was unsure if the girl's state was known extensively to all. she suspected it must be, for they had all been attendant at her bedside since she had come home. there was a long blink that followed, something warm and altogether spurred by the presence of newborns at an experienced breast.
"mireille. sobo. coraline. all of dem returned in a way from de island different, or wid different t'oughts in dey heads. not bad ones," she assured. "only — more tended toward de ways we have not always practiced here."
erzulie may have mentioned the loa in passing, but sobo had been the first to ask her of it, the first to engage her. she had always found this strange and splendid, that women might inherit sapphique and her blood run in their veins, but that one of the sons who had stayed upon these shores held a singular interest in her own past.
it had evoked many things for erzulie.
"i t'ink loko is a bit unchanged. he be wild, dat one. we must keep an eye on him," she joked grinningly toward chacal.

To Chacal, all four of them had seemed somewhat wild- but they were her first set of siblings who had been younger than her, and she’d forgotten how tumultuous youth could be. They were learning through experience, whether it was through honing a craft or travelling, and unfortunately for Coraline, occasionally those life lessons were harder than necessary. 

She smiled. ”Loko I t’ink is familiar to me. He reminds me of Valravn,” she said, her voice falling. She sighed. ”I miss my broder.” She confessed sadly.

erzulie's jaw tensed for a moment of grief. her eyes moved to the sealine. "i miss him too." her throat cleared; she crossed her forelegs. "i hope dat wherever he is, he has learned not to fear de water."
her breath wavered and she looked back to the babes, now sleeping. tears threatened but she did not want them to fall before chacal.
"would you like to stay wid dem? just for a minute," erzulie offered, needing the lash of cold and briny air. her smile was affectionate despite the turmoil warring in her gut.

Chacal had not forgotten the day. It still existed in her mind as a symbol of her kinship with her brother, and as perhaps the first time she opposed her mothers. Amends had been made of course- but still she wished that Valravn had not gone away. She knew her mothers loved him, even though he and Chacal had once rebelled. She could feel Erzulie’s loss.

When asked to stay with the pups, Chacal nodded. She wondered if Erzulie needed air, after thinking of Valravn. Seeking to lighten the mood, she made an affirmative sound. The smile of her mother’s lips did not quite reach her eyes- but she was also, likely, very exhausted. Chacal slid into the alcove her mother left behind, curling gently around the pups.

 ”I will. But you will have to shove me out when you come back, though. I might get too comfortable wid dem so soft an’ warm an’-“ She gently wedged her muzzle between the sleeping pups and made an unintelligible, delighted sound into their velvety fur.

erzulie grinned, easily vacating the space that chacal filled. the scene sent such a warmth and pride thundering through her veins to see the previous generation enveloping the next with such love. "if you be asleep when i come back, i will find som'ting to do," she declared with a smile. "dey eat so often i expect dey will want me back before long."
but until then.
she reached out and kissed each of the three in the den: quennell, chacal, aminthe, and gave them all another fond look before she turned and began to move away toward the bristling line of proud blackpine.

A warm giggle emerged from where she had buried her muzzle between her two youngest siblings as she too received a motherly kiss atop her head. She would always be a daughter, before anything else. And like any child who treasured their parents, but had many siblings to share that love, Chacal was pleased to have been touched with the same fondness. 

She would stay with her siblings, singing softly and talking with them, until her own lullabies sent her to sleep.