Dragoncrest Cliffs soon she shall love
1,689 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Medic
Master Guardian
Offline
#1
Private 
"@Chacal?"
it had been too long she had allowed her daughter to live with the grief and weight of that day. she searched delicately for the child, pulling herself from the never-ending search for regin to look after her youngest last.
her heart scalded in a thousand pieces.
her steps were desperate.
[Image: F0ZZHqZ.png]
Sapphique
Tanzanite*
733 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Master Bard
Offline
#2
To shelter herself from the bite of the oceanside winds, Chacal had found shelter in the lee of a spruce which had been bent sideways by the constant billowing gales. Its trunk was crooked and gnarled and thin, incapable of growing as proudly as it should have when forced to grow sideways, almost horizontal in places. Even its branches sagged toward the ground, weighed down by snow- turning it into a makeshift lean-to that protected Chacal from the wind. There were many of its sort in the area- "Tuckamore" trees that were stout and bent.

She'd chased down and caught a white-tailed jackrabbit, and had been gnawing her way through it while it was still warm when she heard her voice. The timbre of her mother's tone was unmistakable, and its urgency caused her to abandon her catch almost immediately. While still wearing a few tufts of pale white fur form her prize, she emerged from her makeshift shelter, and approached her mother, tail low and swinging softly from side to side. Her doleful gaze sought the purpose for her summons, but was soft and gentle too- she could feel the sorrow that shadowed her mother, so she uttered a soft whine as she nuzzled her muzzle against her mother's shoulder in a reassuring greeting.
It can be assumed that if Chacal is speaking, she will be singing. Her speaking patterns will always have a melodic quality to them.
1,689 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Medic
Master Guardian
Offline
#3
chacal had grown taller, erzulie realized with a start. clad in jetstone robes and cloaked with gold, she was a beautiful reminder of the lovely clan that her mothers had grown together. and she was kind, good-hearted; musical.
the notes of it now sounded in her chest; erzulie returned them with a sigh and a lick, chuffing in an amusement she did not quite feel at the tassels of white clinging to chacal. "you have been hunting, cher," the harlot said with approval. "but i wonder if i must worry about your heart." two-toned eyes searching into the gilded sheen of the girl's own.
[Image: F0ZZHqZ.png]
Sapphique
Tanzanite*
733 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Master Bard
Offline
#4
And what of her heart? She was pleased that her mother acknowledged the fact that she'd been honing her skills as a hunter- but when she was asked a complicated question she frowned and turned her face away, to gaze into the distance. To respond to such a thing demanded words, and she felt herself growing more and more aware of the fact that she was different. While her family loved her and included her all the same, she couldn't help but feel as though she was living on the outside, because she could not engage in conversation the same way that the rest of them could. She had so many thoughts, and so many feelings- but she had not the tongue to express them. She shrugged, simply; and sighed heavily.
It can be assumed that if Chacal is speaking, she will be singing. Her speaking patterns will always have a melodic quality to them.
1,689 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Medic
Master Guardian
Offline
#5
chacal still had not taken speech to heart. at this point, erzulie had let the possibility of it fall along the wayside. it changed nothing in her love for the girl, nor in how sapphique loved their own. the sound of words was not necessary for it.
she set them down herself, lowered her crown and made as if to bump chacal gently against the gold-dip of her own skull. mine. ours.
"do you remember de purple flowers dat used to grow in de moors?" erzulie inquired in a gentle voice.
[Image: F0ZZHqZ.png]
Sapphique
Tanzanite*
733 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Master Bard
Offline
#6
The moors. It had been some time since she'd thought about the moors, but she recalled what she believed were the flowers her mother was talking about. There were a few different kinds, of course- but the sea lavender grew plentifully, in clumps of hundreds of tiny purple flowers. She wasn't sure why her Maman had brought the little flowers up- but she nodded solemnly, and looked up at her mother with a curious gaze.
It can be assumed that if Chacal is speaking, she will be singing. Her speaking patterns will always have a melodic quality to them.
1,689 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Medic
Master Guardian
Offline
#7
"i want to bring some of dem here," she said softly. "even if pretty flowers grow when de spring comes, i want t'ose ones." she grinned. "would you like to make a trip of it wid me, chacal?"
they would return and plant what they had taken here, so that in the seasons to come, the lavender would spread in the same profusion. "so we add what we know to what will be."
[Image: F0ZZHqZ.png]
Sapphique
Tanzanite*
733 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Master Bard
Offline
#8
...[size=medium]i want t'ose ones."[/size][size=medium] [/size]

[size=medium]It touched Chacal to know that her mother could be so particular about something so frivolous. Sometimes, perhaps, she saw her mothers as being perennially concerned with much bigger matters- the disappearance of packmates, the deaths of packmates, and the additions of packmates. All of it was everything that they needed to do in order to keep the pack strong, so she couldn't fault them. But this...This seemed like an unnecessary, but meaningful action that intrigued the girl. [/size]

[size=medium]So she nodded, her expression brightening when she was invited to take part in the relocation of the plants. Part of her wondered how many others her mother had asked for the task- privately hoping that perhaps she was the only one. [/size]
It can be assumed that if Chacal is speaking, she will be singing. Her speaking patterns will always have a melodic quality to them.
1,689 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Medic
Master Guardian
Offline
#9
she meant it only to be them, the nod to the last daughter of the season; she knew the new year must bring more, but in the meantime, before sapphique came alive with spring's essential nature, she wished chacal to hold her focus. "vous et moi."
relieved that her little gold-cape had lightened somewhat, erzulie gathered herself and made a sideways step. "i found sea urchin eggs," she grinned, thinking of the salted, cold little things that could be pried from beneath a spiked shell. a tilt of her head. she would lead chacal off for a feast.
[Image: F0ZZHqZ.png]
Sapphique
Tanzanite*
733 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Master Bard
Offline
#10
She lifted her chin slightly when her mother stated that this could be an opportunity for them to spend some time together, bringing the pretty little flowers to the Cliffs as a mother-daughter activity. Not that she minded sharing her mothers with others, but...She did still treasure whatever time she got to have where she could have their undivided attention. She had been raised in an environment that was devoted and doting, and had blossomed because of it. 

At the mention of sea urchin eggs, she bounced happily. She loved eating food that came from the sea- and such things as sea urchin eggs were somewhat of a delicacy to Chacal, who huffed eagerly, hoping her mother would show her the way to where they had been found.
It can be assumed that if Chacal is speaking, she will be singing. Her speaking patterns will always have a melodic quality to them.
1,689 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Medic
Master Guardian
Offline
#11
erzulie found her step lighter as she led chacal to the inner beachway and toward a large boulder rising from the wrt sand just off the water's edge. the monolith of sea-stone was wordlessly named within her mind; the harlot saw it as a guardian between sea and land. rising distinctly on its other side were the spiked purple-black creatures.
it took some work to pry one from its perch; her hard feet with the protective covering of salt and sand eventually had delivered three to the ground below. the next task was to open them, a feat achieved by lying the sea urchins against a rock at the bottom edge of a dune and pushing another, smaller stone until it gathered momentum in the sand and cracked harshly against two of the sea-gifts.
a grin to chacal; the shells lay open, exposing five orange-red strips of salted flesh, and the prize for which the sapphiquians had come: two small yellow bundles of eggs just inside. 
two urchins, and energy enough to break open the third if they so chose. she stood back, motioning to her sweet jackal.
[Image: F0ZZHqZ.png]
Sapphique
Tanzanite*
733 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Master Bard
Offline
#12
While she enjoyed hunting small prey on land, Chacal took a great deal of delight finding things to eat along the seashore. There was less stalking and running involved, but finding food in this part of their territory sometimes took a bit of cunning, and definitely called for a wolf to be an opportunist. Some things were tricky to get open, like mussels and clams. Crabs, of course, had pinchers which could be quite painful. Urchins were something else altogether- covered in spikes that didn't get stuck in the skin and fur the way a porcupine's quills would, but they were still sharp and jabby nonetheless. 

She watched with a fascinated gaze as her mother demonstrated how to deal with the urchins, which needed to be cracked open before the eggs could be consumed. She allowed a stone to do the work, rather than trying to pry them apart with her claws or jaws, which was interesting to watch as well. She'd never thought of rolling a stone down a sand dune to crack open a shell before; this might work for something like mussels or clams as well, as long as she got her aim right. 

Once beckoned, Chacal moved forward to delicately nose the sides of the urchin apart so she could get at the eggs without prickling her muzzle. They had an unusual flavour, but were still delicious. Not much more than a snack- but they still had one urchin left. Chacal danced back, and began to nudge at the stone, wanting to push it back up the sand dune so she might give it a go, and try to crack the third urchin open.
It can be assumed that if Chacal is speaking, she will be singing. Her speaking patterns will always have a melodic quality to them.
1,689 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Medic
Master Guardian
Offline
#13
her daughter observed, pretty eyes watchful. she was a credit to sapphique in all ways; erzulie much of rosalyn in her. rosencrantz was greatly missed, but perhaps one day she might take chacal to where the wondrous archangel had been buried, and speak of his name.
with pleasure she lapped up the couplets of salty eggs, enjoying this consistent treat offered by the ocean.
noting what her child meant to do, erzulie grinned and moved to assist her, using the edge of her muzzle to help grind the stone back up along the low sandy slope. it was slow going with one, faster with two, and at length it was readied again.
this time she stepped back, swaying her tail and giving chacal an encouraging glance. "you have dis, cher," the obsidian purled, though she would move to help if the stone should shift or become off-kilter.
[Image: F0ZZHqZ.png]
Sapphique
Tanzanite*
733 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Master Bard
Offline
#14
When her mother moved to assist her, Chacal's enthusiasm got the better of her, so she occasionally bounced away from the small rock they pushed up the slope, before returning to her mother's side and offering a few pushes herself. It wasn't too large or heavy for them to roll the stone up the slope, though her excitement likely made the task take a bit longer than it would have had Erzulie done the pushing herself. Once they crested the dune, Chacal stood tense, feet squared, but tail waving from side to side in an arch over her back. With a coy side-eye she watched her mother's expression, and waited until she was cued to bound forward. 

She stopped, though, just short of the stone, and pranced for a moment as she investigated it again. It was covered in sand from being rolled, and was slightly damp in places from where it had cracked the urchins open. She gazed past it, and down toward the flat stone where the one remaining urchin was, and once she gathered up the courage, she began to nudge the stone forward, carefully, cautiously- until it moved of its own accord and rolled down the dune. 

The path that had been pushed into the sand before aided in directing the stone where it needed to go and it was with a delightful crunching sound that it broke apart the urchin. Chacal had followed close behind it, ready to step in and shove it with her shoulder should she need to correct its direction, and stepped forward to investigate their prize. Just as the others, it had the orange, star-shaped pattern of flesh, and two small bundles of eggs. One had been slightly squished by the boulder, so she separated the urchin into two parts- pushing the spiky cup with the unharmed eggs toward the edge of the flat rock for her mother, before settling down onto her belly and beginning to lick the eggs out of the other half.
It can be assumed that if Chacal is speaking, she will be singing. Her speaking patterns will always have a melodic quality to them.
1,689 Posts
Ooc — ebony
Medic
Master Guardian
Offline
#15
chacal, despite frisking about, soon set the full sum of her focus upon the task at hand. erzulie watched with no small amount of pride as the willowbound girl looked carefully at the stone's setting before she sent it down the slope. it was with a satisfying crack the urchin came apart, sheared perfectly by the accurate aim chacal had made for herself.
a laugh of delight. erzulie nudged softly along the girl's silken shoulder before she fell to her own piece of the sea's offering. "how good it is to live by de water," the harlot sighed joyously when she had finished. the taste of salt and delicate meat from the spiked shell lay sweetly upon her tongue, and at length she began to roll against the earth, for the sheer sensation of it, the pride of being in good company, the pleasant feel of having hunted well.
[Image: F0ZZHqZ.png]
Sapphique
Tanzanite*
733 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Master Bard
Offline
#16
Fade here? Thanks for the lesson on sea urchins! :)

Like a happy kitten, Chacal kneaded the sand lightly with her paws as she finished the last of the eggs that the urchin had to offer, carefully smoothing out the insides of the odd creature so she could make sure she hadn't missed any. While it was not a filling meal that could feed an entire pack, it was something that provided important nutrients nonetheless and the ocean, it seemed, was evergreen in its willingness to provide sustenance. Even if the land turned cold and hard, the sea still moved and supplied what it could, constantly bringing its gifts to the shore. 

So came to her the beginning of a revelation that the sea was more than simply a bystander, or a feature of their homelands that was a simple, though breathtaking beauty. Life could come from it, and it seemed to infect her mother with youth and a certain joy that was infectious, even if it came to Chacal as a second-hand notion. Through her mother's enjoyment and lessons, she could learn to love it too. 

Like her mother she fell against the sand and rolled, feeling how it moved against the contour of her body and rubbed against her curves. When she sat up, she was covered in flecks of pale sand, which made her giddy yet again to the point of feeling foolish. With a toss of her head, she dove toward her mother with a light chop of her lips, before she began to skitter along the shore, waving her tail in broad circles in hopes she might challenge her mother to race her off into the horizon.
It can be assumed that if Chacal is speaking, she will be singing. Her speaking patterns will always have a melodic quality to them.