Loss Never Gets Easier

Days had passed but it still felt like the very same day to Ikigai. She'd just lost her children. Bedridden due to sorrow and broken ribs, the Ashen princess saw no one. She spoke to no one. Iki wasn't sure if anyone even knew, not that it mattered. She and Deimos were in mourning for what could have been. The pale woman hadn't even told her mother about the pregnancy or the loss. She suffered quietly alone or beside her mate. That was until Manea came.

Gentle midday light illuminated the purple woman as she entered the cave. Ikigai lifted her head from where it had rested in the nest of furs and watched as Manea drew in close. The large fae lay down beside her, offering her condolences. At first, Iki couldn't answer. Marbled eyes widened and her lips pursed in a hard line as she tried not to cry. In the end, she failed.

Manea had always been a wolf that Ikigai trusted from the very moment they met. Now, with time together, she was a wolf that the pale woman very much loved. Not having her own mother here, the purple woman had unofficially taken that role. So, as the amaranthine fae showed sympathy, Iki could do nothing but accept it and give in. Her lower lip quivered for a moment and a sob pulled from a pinched throat. Iki leaned into the big woman as though she was still a pup. With her forehead against Manea's shoulder, she cried, letting out the grief that was stored up inside of her.

"Iki"