Arrow Lake another word for divine,

Aure rose during the grey hour, and waited for the world to amber with morning by cradling one child after the other and doling out their first baths for the day. Yawning between the steady laves of her tongue proved to be irresistible; whenever she gave into them, her hold on a bairn slackened, and her eyes teared with fatigue. Regardless of squirming and squalling and protests, Aure embraced her children as sound, yet softly, as she possibly could. She found that though Dragomir proved to be the explorer of the family, Isilmë seemed more prone to putting up a fight, and the silver wouldn’t wish it any other way. They were, after all, blood and bone of a wanderer and a warrior.

When their children were moons-enough, the new mother was sure that the new father would invest his own time in training them via skirmishes — as he had with her, supposedly. Perhaps her brother could help too, wherever or whenever Verx could not. As much as she cherished to, Aure knew there was a day that’d come where she would no longer be able to hold her children’s napes.

These thoughts roosted in her mind, coaxing back the words of her dear Sanguinis: ”It was only when I was well into my adolescence did I begin to learn offensive and defensive sparring techniques.” He’d mentioned, too, that the earlier months of his life were held by the less demanding lessons; had Verx’s own training been the same? The thought of a younger, rascally dragă, no more than a burgeoning scrapper... The little fancy brought a quivering smile to her scarred lips; and after a faltering quirk, she surrendered a hearty, faint giggle into baby Drago’s crown.

Oh, yes — she would inquire Vercingetorix indeed.

Eyes crescenting, the silver tenderly drew Dragomir closer for a moment, before soon placing him at the milk-site of her budding belly. It wasn’t long before belea would get her own morning wash, and Aure kept a steady, fond eye on the creamed girl as their thicket brightened and blushed to amber and blue.

Days after birth (4/1.) Paging @Blodreina!

blodreina had avoided aure's birthing den for several reasons: the primary to give the young family to adjust to their newest members without company, borne out of what she thought was a respect of space and because she yearns for the familiarity of border patrols. the territory is strange and the wolves of diaspora still yet strangers to her and perhaps this is what finally made up the wanlida's mind. it wasn't her first rodeo with newborns — she remembered when the commander's last children were born and wildfire's seemingly permanent weepy state. she cringes at the thought and prays to whatever spirits of the commanders are listening to her ( if they have not also called her natrona and disregard her ) that she doesn't take to crying.

a scrappy rabbit swings from betwixt her jaws as she nears the birthing den, assuming it was kind of protocol to bring the new mother some sort of gift. food seemed to be the only thing blodreina could think of that was suitable; food and a soft pelt for the young goufas to gum. she chuffs around the mound of flesh in her mouth to garner aure's attention and waits dutifully outside the birthing den, ears twitching at the sounds of the newborns within the den, for permission to enter.

She had only begun to reach for Isilmë when her ears feathered at a familiar, fierce chuff; fine head swiveled towards the plush greenery of the thicket’s mouth, and it was there that she saw the familiar silhouette of Blodreina. ”Come in,” she lilted, gracious as ever, before she plucked Isilmë from her resting place, gathering her at her breast, and went about bathing once more. Her argent gaze was watchful, but not unkind, as Blodreina made to enter the thicket.

Before their exodus from Drageda, the last time Aure had properly seen or spoken to the gona had been during Verx’s incapacitation. When Rose had turned from her, the female before her and Dacio’s son — resentful of the once-skayona, she’d figured — had been the ones to stay by her side and tolerate her brusque, blunted commands. She supposed moments such as those would be the only instances where she would ever reign.

Although Aure had taken a liking to the cliffs, she would never be imbued in that culture, and so she was quite indifferent to the mar of natrona. Still, from the gist summoned by the recent airs of her friend and her beloved, she could sense that it was a much different situation for the both of them. So, she would seek to understand, if only to lend an ear or shoulder and nothing more; and would elbow down her own bit of guilt —

The bit that’d been murmuring to her that she was at fault for this; for stealing two warriors from all they’d ever known, nevermind impregnation whilst knowing next to nothing of the cliffs themselves. If she’d kept to the Valley, would anything have changed so much at the Coast? 

The scent of rabbit tugged Aure from her dreary little myriad — she’d rather not pay them much mind, anyways — and her eyes alit on the scrawny hare that the kru-born brought in tow. Hesitated at it, favoring to blink in flurries than continue to preen at Isilmë’s shoulders. A gift? ”Thank you, Reina — how have you been faring?” Aure was quite unused to receiving gifts... but accepted it without further qualm and with a docile nod.

Dragomir is skippable in the post order, may just drop a post here or there.

It was only fitting that as his mother fussed at him, mussing his fur and smoothing it back with swipes of her tongue, Dragomir believed he was diving. The sea was a sparkling blue-green, with the promise of a reef in the shadowed distance. Far away, a shark's fin cut the water, but he was unafraid of that. All creatures of the depths were his friends, and he knew the safest ways to interact with them all. Stretching out his arms, he bounced on the balls of his feet several times, then bent his knees and jumped. With a smooth arc in midair, he broke through the water's surface with hardly a splash and plunged into the frigid ocean, where fish and rays frolicked.

All the while, he paddled his limbs ineffectually against Aure's face and chest, making the motion of a slow doggy paddle. His thin tail wriggled at his hind and he whimpered softly when a chuckle brushed across his scalp. Then he was relinquished as Aure turned her attention to his sister and he began dragging himself along the soft floor, gathering bits of debris and dirt on his chest as he quested toward the former Drageda warrior, relishing the feel of the air vibrating as Blodreina and Aure conversed overhead.

aure invites her in and blodreina steps inside the birthing den, her eyes dropping from the pale sylph to the two small newborns that are nestled against her. two copies of their parents, she thinks as she studies them. the question that aure presents her with draws blodreina's attention from the babes — and her subtle wonderment that she's growing little newborns like that within her own womb — back to their mother. she wonders if that question is asked just out of habit. a courtesy; because it's answer is more than loaded. how was she faring with her progressing pregnancy? or how was she faring with diaspora?

it depends. she replies vaguely. how're you faring? she returns the question, eager to get the spotlight off of her. the pregnancy was the easy part of this whole life disruption thing. she'd stopped having morning sickness but at the price of tenderness and a small swell of her sides that physically shows her condition. adjusting to a life that is so different than the only one she's ever known? difficult. depressing. so much of her was trigeda culture that she isn't sure who she is now that she's walked away from drageda. still trigeda, she tells herself. drageda's ultimate thoughts on her do not matter — it wasn't like the commander ever really enforced trigeda's traditions anyway.

they're beautiful. she remarks on the babes, peering down with softened eyes at the ebon babe as begins to drag himself towards her. and who're you? she coos towards him, glimpsing up at aure to make the ( formal ) introductions.

me & my lazy April ass omg im sry

She sees Reina mull over her own response, and instead faces an inquiry from the war-maiden herself — one to which a breathy, worn laugh leaves her. “Adjusting, I suppose.” She hopes she is, more like. Diaspora so far had been... tolerable, and those she’s come to know have been anything but ill-wishing. It was out of love for the children, since they had nothing to offer, at the moment, aside from babbling and to fill everyone’s hearts to the brim with ardor.

Tugged from her uneasy rumination by her blackberry son forging his way to the Blood Queen at a determined crawl, her scarred face eased, knowing that the other female was trustable enough in company held with children. A remark came — on the beauty of her children, and one that brought a gleam to her lips. They were beautiful, for they were hers, and Verx’s, and a hope for something more for these two lives they’d brought into the world. She would never argue with that.

When asked of a name, Aure trilled, “Dragomir. A little explorer, I think.” Argent eyes found the pudgy survivalist, softened to melted silver, and Aure continued, “His mind is ravenous. I can already tell how it hungers; but for what?” Her gaze met Blodreina’s again, thoughtful and light, before introducing the Isilmë with a murmur.

While the women conversed overhead, Dragomir continued his single-minded mission. Inside his mind he may well have been swimming toward a far off reef where a shark's fin jutted over the waves, but physically he was rowing his way laboriously toward Blodreina. The nearer he drew, the stronger her individual scent became, overpowering Aure's. The novelty of Blodreina lured him onward until he bumped his snout against one of her broad paws, where he stopped with an abrupt squeak.

His pale nose began to work furiously against the dirty fur on Blodreina's second toe. He catalogued a lot of different scents through this process, from the sun-baked stone she had walked recently on to the musk of her scent glands. It was the former smell of Outside and Earth that bid him to snake out a small tongue and sample the dust on her toes with a scrunched face.

adjusting, i suppose. it was a fair enough reply and makes blodreina wonder if that's what any new and first time mother does. adjust. it stirs some doubt within her breast — this would not be the last occurrence of this — on whether she was ready for this. ready for motherhood. it wasn't like she'd spent her life dreaming of this. her dream had been very different. blodreina's attention is drawn to the inky boy as he crawls nearer glimpsing at aure as the pale sylph introduced him: dragomir. hei, dragomir, blodreina coos to verx's miniature with a fond smile and a soft laugh as the babe taste tests her toe, her blue-green gaze watching with an unbidden softness as his face scrunches up. toes aren't meant for eating, silly.

blodreina stays for a while longer, acquainting herself with the pale isilmë too, though she showers dragomir with most of her attention out of the desire not to disturb the slumbering girl. she asks aure a few more questions that pop into her mind before she grows restless and departs from the young family with a fond goodbye.