Dragoncrest Cliffs might as well ask what makes a star

All welcome! Tags just for reference oof
Setting  Pre-dawn
Time  Dated to 2.24, what is time lmao 
Thread for Botany specialty

The ivory astronomess had begun to tire of the turmoil, tearful and tender besides, which many mothers-to-be soon come to know. Wandering had been tampered by the week’s following childing, and remained so by the days wound up with a cloying cold. So her time was spent like so: reclusive with rest, dreaming of names for children, comforting her cheka, and staving off the visceral visions that were depthless, dark.

But as she came into what she suspected would be her fifth week, Bounkola felt compelled to savor whatever remained of this middling week; whatever it would bring. The vestiges of illness had since become faint, only and through the attentions of Dragostea and the stores of the since-returned opkepa. The herbs which were given to her held the presence of @Rose behind them, and had thus shepherded the pale she-wolf well on her way to recovery. And in this, her gratefulness for both kru was insurmountable.

Regardless, the skayona rose, and began to trace her way deeper into Hougeda’s dim, trailing the scent of salt through this uncharted find. She could have veiled herself in the maternal, dramatic airs which urged her to deviate from bedrest. She would tell anyone who asked that it was the wishes of her womb which drew her to the sea. And perhaps it was true, in some way; her children were both parts stormborn, starborn.

Stormborn. The wisping thought had a soft, faltering breath leave her — at how storm-like her cheka tended to become. It was indisputable. Yet, as she chanced upon a panorama she’d never hoped to find, her piqued heart stuttered as a gloam curved about it once more; the kind she thought she'd been able to leave behind within Hougeda.

Since Antumbra’s passing, @Eastwood and others had taken their leave of the cliffs. Any such tidings of other members hadn’t made themselves known to her; but, as it was, she’d been trying to maintain as an unwavering façade of resolute hope as she could. The news still pierced within her breast, though, as she tread through the water-limned walkway to the little cove below. Not hers, but... it would do.

Throughout the wretched beginning of the story that was her life, Rose had become well acquainted with death coming for those she knew, a curse she bared that had yet to draw any true sympathy from her - probably due to the fact that she had been exposed to loss right from the very beginning. As such Heda's death was not something she mourned greatly, or really at all. She was just another life gone with the wind that would eventually be forgotten with time, just as all the others before her had faded away from the opkepa's memory.

Still, even if she did not hold a heavy heart during this time, many on the cliffs did and the sorrow that filled the air was thick and unbearable. She did not long to be around such misery seeing as she'd already had her fair share long before she took up residence on the cliffs. So in an attempt to slip free of the low spirits that lingered like mindless ghosts, Rose peeled away from the heart of the cliffside and began her decent into Hougeda, hopeful that it would provided her with much needed time away from those still grieving. Of course it came as no surprise that she'd bump into someone when trying to escape from the world but, considering who exactly it was she'd stumbled upon, the fiery healer couldn't remain all that upset. "Aure" she called out as she caught sight of the pale woman, tail swishing lazily behind her as she wondered what drew the skayona into the depths of Hougeda.

Though she did not voice it, and though it might seem insensitive to the cliffs, the skayona was gladdened that there might be another such as herself — who understood, at least in some part, what Heda had meant to everyone, but simply couldn’t drudge up a personal sorrow. And understand other kru as they might, but for the two females who had constant acquaintances with death (herbs and all, of course), comforting wasn’t something that easily came. To her part, Aure had tried to listen, to harken as she could; it wore her down, but what worth was she otherwise? 

A herald of her name, seasoned and burnished, had her wading from her thoughts and looking for whomever it was. ”Rose,” she hummed in return, her lips curling into a soft smile, countenance relaxed and bespoke once-sleep. ”I hope your days are healing.” Curving her course, she treaded back the way she came until she leveled with the russet healer (well, sort of, shortness and all.)

Aure’s own tail feathered warmly at her hocks, looking the opkepa over, ”Vanishing for a chance to breathe too, are you?” Her words were wry, but empathetic.

A smile teased at the corner of her lips when the alabaster sylph made her way to greet her, a soft hum echoing in her breast as she mused over the skayona's words. "Yes. I'm afraid I don't handle grief very well, makes me rather uncomfortable if I'm honest." Her restlessness likely had to do with her poor handling of her own emotions, so having to deal with someone else's wasn't really her cup of tea.

"How have you been?" she asked in an airy breath, gaze trailing upwards to search for the woman's moonlit eyes as she recalled their last encounter several moons ago and the events that took place between then and now.

She nodded along with Rose's words; something they could agree on after all this time. "There's only so much one can take," she lent. "It's... very easy to forget to take care of yourself. I've been... trying to, I suppose." A thin shoulder rolled in mute supplication of everything else she wasn't sure how to say. How was she doing? In every truth, she didn't really know — she didn't know what she was meant to feel. The astronomess was in love, and mother-to-be of her mate's children, that much was true; but she had withdrawn into herself, as much tenderness there was to be found there.

"It feels... selfish, in some way, to not be more, oh, I'm not sure. More immersed in ze consoling of others. All the same, I... well," Her lilting faltered, and she ended up scuffing ivory talons along pebbles along the path. "I am eager, truthfully, to move on from this. It does not do us good to be all sorrowful, with ze Sound and us in stagnancy." An uncertain little pause; was she explaining herself well enough? How could you explain away your personal doubts, hopes, and wonderings in the midst of such sorrow that you simply felt... so apart from? "H-have you ever been to ze cove, down there?" A light motion of her head, back the way she'd meant to go.

She sucked in a breath as Aure admitted to feeling a similar uneasiness around the others while they mourned the loss of their leader, something it seemed only the two of them would ever understand. It was strange really, after all a part of Rose wished she'd be able to grieve with the others but the feeling of loss was simply not there and she certainly was not going to act like it was.

"They will move on from this and when they do, they will come out stronger than before" she announced with a puff of confidence, certain those on the cliffs would not let this death defeat them. They were Drageda after all, something like this would not be enough to shake them from their roots. "I don't believe I have" she let out after a moment while glancing down to the cove, ears twitching atop her russet crown as she took in the view.

The russet’s claim only helped to bolster Aure’s own stance in all of this, and it was enough to have the silver motioning for the opkepa to follow. ”I’ll admit, I’ve discovered Hougeda rather... rather late,” she lent, voice a little flustered. ”Up until some weeks ago, I’d had my own cove. But, I’ve heard of this one and, well... well, I’d like to explore more of it. I don’t think I am able to descend without help, though,” words falling into a mutter, gaze flickering absently at her belly.

The pale herbalist gave a flimsy scuff of a paw through water, sent it skipping, entirely unsure as to why she was acting so anxious. “I’ve... been meaning to ask, what would you think of myself situating another apothecary somewhere? It might be good to have two of them — more resources, more flow between tenants.” She'd all but forgotten her little quest to search for a new abode, one for apothecary, and one for whelping (as well as a rendezvous for labor — thinking ahead always seems to work in her favor.)

The search had been right after her... her vendetta with Vercingetorix. She tried to not dwell upon all she’d known of the both of them; how his words merely reinforced her understanding of the situation. How they... how they hurt, the words; how the two of Them hurt; how his rearing alongside her remained to be more than she could ask for. And would only be what she could ever ask for, it seems.

Again — she tries to not dwell on it, as much as her heart wishes to. Instead, her mind has turned to the kru in the meantime; she needed to grow here. Grow from her hurts as her heart soothed itself out. Evermore, structure needed to be brought back to the cliffs, and her concept to Rose was merely that: a concept. 

Nonetheless, a smile warbled on her scarred lips at a sudden, absurd thought: ”If you’d like, we could even announce it at ze lake? ‘Ailments for ailing! Balls—‘“ stumbled over a word, a surprised, girlish snicker arrived; rattling up the rest, ”’balms for bites! Don’t forget to bring us your dying! Remember to retrieve your dead!’ A bit macabre, but perhaps that is attractive to most kru, no?” And even if it wasn’t, Aure knew she’d be prone to announcing such, only if it weren’t for Rose’s sensible presence here on the cliffs. Then again, where war was an uneasy stagnancy, there were always sparrers and skirmish-ers and hunters to tend to.

If a tour guide for Hougeda was what Aure was after then she'd unfortunately run into the wrong company. Rose had never been past the entranceway more than once and even that time was stored poorly in her memory. "Truth be told I've only ever descended into Hougeda once so, perhaps we can explore it together?" she revealed and questioned as she moved to offer a gentle bump to an alabaster shoulder.

As for the matter of her pale companion setting up her own stores, well, "That sounds like a wonderful idea. You are always welcome to stop by and grab any supplies you many need from my caches as well." There were several of them already littering the redwoods that were open to everyone who may need supplies to tend to their own wounds but, for Aure she'd share even the rarest of herbs she had gathered.

"Sounds like you gave this quite a bit of thought" she let out in a cheery laugh, tail swaying to and fro behind her as she moved to stand beside the pale woman. "Though let's leave out the dead part until the majority of those on the cliffs are well past grieving, okay?"

Ears furled back at the admittance, more in slight flustering than anything. But with a bump to the shoulder, Aure nodded, once again reassured and further so by Rose’s support of another apothecary. She was gladdened at the trust that the opkepa mused towards her with, and rather humbled; it’d been some time since another had put such faith in her. She’d forgotten what it felt like, and exuded her thanks with a sheepish wriggle of her body.

Side-trotting down the path, the silver fell back into step with Rose as they neared the crest of the overlook. ”Of course. We should leave it at balms, I suppose,” a laugh of some apology. Pressing her tendered side along the russet’s — if her asking for permission to touch was granted, of course — the two herbalist began a careful way down the crags leading into unfamiliar sands.

The shore was a sight to behold, but Aure’s own interest was snagged by the bits of green shrugging their way up from between little nooks and crevices. ”I suppose, too, that I have become rather restless. Which is anything that an expectant should be doing — but I cannot help it! I adore sleep, I do.” Pausing for a moment to admire sprigs of catmint, ”There is simply an urge within me to do something. Something for ze kru, something... mm.”

Still quite unable to finish her own thoughts, she gave a shrug of pale shoulders and continued their wary promenade, looking forward to the moment they touched down on sand.