little unsteady

Lilith settled in with her dinner, already feeling sleepiness tugging at her even as the first few bites began to fill her belly. Ulric was right there beside her, the biggest asset to her comfort. He put her at ease and made her feel safe and stable. Like there wasn’t anything the world could throw at her that he couldn’t protect her from. Even her heart after her mother left them. She was a tiny sickly child for too long, but now that she had been through the trials and triumphed she was becoming more of a lady everyday. The puppy-like gangliness she held to for so long was melting away and revealing a young woman beneath.

She filled her belly by the time her father began to speak, her ruby eyes fluttered with exhaustion but her dappled ears perked towards him. She wanted her story and she wouldn’t fall asleep until she heard it. The young girl could easily imagine the place he began to describe, though she had trouble remembering or even picturing the plants he talked about. She hardly remembered what the sun even looked like now. Along with her memory of the seasons so went her memory of mother and sister. She felt their missing presence keenly, but even now she was forgetting their faces.

Lil tried to focus, living with her father as he invoked his fond memory of a magical place. One Lillith now wondered if she might ever see. She blinked back open her eyes and looked up to him as he returned her misplaced fur and went on almost hesitantly. Lilith immediately pulled her gaze from him and planted it firmly on her paws. She moved as though struck, but tried to regain her composure as swiftly as she lost it. She’d already cried enough. Lillith’s breathing hitched, and she blinked back tears instead of sleep.