Pinch myself awake

*Zeitgeist* · 07-25-2021, 06:56 PM

The days following her return passed both excruciatingly slowly and in the blink of an eye. Each hour spent away from her children were hours they were growing, learning, existing without her. It was nearly impossible to convince herself to provide them the space they might need, and choosing to remain away from them was almost more painful then having them held from her a continent past her reach. The recovering queen spent the majority of her time tucked within her familiar den, only venturing out in to the territory when Sirius would prompt her and never for too long. Simply existing in the state of freedom was draining, and had she been able to think Deathbelle's name without becoming enraged she'd be thanking the Gods that her first mistress was never so cruel.

Beneath her treasured cheetah coat she huddled, finding the fabric managed to hide her emaciated form well. Zee hoped that by appearing stronger she might feel some inner strength return to her, too. At her door her faithful Toucan croaked, the sound shortly followed by the hesitant call of her horned daughter. "I'm here." Zee answered softly. In her paws was a faintly nibbled rabbit, and she gently pushed off to the side and into the shadows. While her husband was out and about much more then Zee herself was, he never failed to return every few hours to deposit in front of her some meal. The times he'd stay with her, she'd eat what was offered out of politeness. When his visit was short, she'd take a few bites and discard the rest before the rich meat caused her stomach to churn.

Her first instinct was to invite her daughter in, but she swallowed back the words quickly. Offering an invitation could be misinterpreted that there was ever a time her children were not welcome to intrude upon her, and Zee refused to risk planting that thought. "How are you, Briar?" She asked instead, offering her daughter a small smile of (what Zee hoped looked like) encouragement.

"Speech"

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Pinch myself awake

Zee

Zeitgeist